1998 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

“The 1998 Dujac Clos de la Roche gets my vote as one of the wines of the vintage. It is a complete, elegant and intensely flavored wine that delivers outstanding complexity, breed and dimension in a suave, perfectly balanced format. The nose is pure and perfumed, offering up notes of sweet plums, dark berries, cloves, nutmeg, plenty of soil tones, milk chocolate, developing notes of the forest floor to come, a fine framing of vanillin oak and a topnote redolent of violets. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, aristocratic, deep and seamless, with a beautiful core of tangy fruit, outstanding fruit/acid balance, and great length and grip on the moderately tannic, palate-staining finish. This gets my vote as the best Dujac wine in a very, very strong lineup of 1998s. 95+” (02/2004)

“Deep red. Briary red berries, mocha, licorice, leather and smoky oak on the highly aromatic nose. Impressively thick and concentrated, but also conveys an impression of firm acidity. Intriguing cool menthol note along with sappy red berries. One senses the vineyard character here. Finishes firmly tannic but not dry. Very backward wine with a bright future. (ST) 91+” (03/2001)

“Gorgeously fragrant and sweet Pinot fruit aromas laced with licorice, earth, blackberries and distinct oak notes lead to seductively textured flavors that are rich and intense with significant yet ripe, velvety, almost fine tannins.” (12/2005)