128. Paul Jaboulet Aine, Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert, 1999

£8-10; 13%

1997 Meysonniers: 7.6 (7) – slightly darker than the ’95 with Port-like notes and strawberry, coupled with caramel. Balanced, spicy flavour with some red fruit that had soft tannin and the right acidity.

1998 Meysonniers: 6.5 (6) – again, relatively light aromas of spice and black pepper. Fuller-bodied rich flavour, and smoothly balanced, but with more tannic bit [sic]. A little disappointing for a ’98.

1999 Meysonniers: 8.0 (10) – Wow! Very nice. Vanilla and sweet cinnamon-like spices with some chocolate notes. Velvety smooth and well balanced, but with sufficient tannic bite. My favourite.

1999 Thalabert: 7.3 (9) – Comparable to the ’99 Meysonniers in terms of body, but much more coffee (and vanilla) on the nose. Slightly tannic and acidic bite suggests a couple of years to go before perfection. Nice.