A drop dead gorgeous aromatic profile of clove, anise, hoisin, soy and jasmin and plenty of now largely secondary fruit aromas. There is good richness to the nicely sweet medium weight flavors that are supple but detailed while delivering fine complexity on the highly persistent finish. While the '96 RSV is not an especially concentrated wine compared to its usual standards, it is an exceptionally dense wine in the context of the vintage. To my taste this has arrived at its peak though it should easily hold for years to come. Multiple and consistent notes save for one bottle that displayed an incredible amount of wood, indeed so much so that it didn't even remotely resemble the description above.

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