(2001) Another powerful nose, schisty, gravelly mineral qualities, but plenty of sweet, perfumed fruit with notes of caramel and again a lovely animal edge. The palate is quite dry and savoury, with a serious, tannin and acid backbone and a nice fleshy texture. The fruit does push through and has plenty of ripe sweetness, but the balance of this vintage doesn’t sing quite as purely. Jean-Louis thought this was rather closed, so my verdict of very good indeed might well turn out to be too cautious.