1998 Gallet Côte-Rôtie

How many good things can I say about this wine? Well, first, let me air it out, well-splashed in a wide-mouth decanter…… OK, waited long enough. What are those good things about the Gallet? 1. Great size without being at all clumsy. 2. Sock-you-in-the-face Côte Blonde character. Lots of violet. 3. A fine, not overdone structure. 4. Little hints of the smoky meat Lancement (more than 3/4 of the final blend is from this well-situated vineyard) smells. This should age into a bacony nuclear warhead of a wine. 5. Terrific length and persistance in the mouth. I should note that this bottle was from the first bottling. He does two or three. If I can say 5 good things about it, it’s got to be classic Côte-Rôtie. Moe Double-Curly.

SY (4/01)