The '85 Jayer Richebourg is a wine that I have had the remarkable good fortune to have tried multiple times thanks to a very generous friend that had acquired quite a stash of it upon release. I have also had very few substandard bottles though to be sure there have been a few that were excellent if not truly brilliant. The bottle in this tasting was among those that I would describe as excellent but not brilliant as it didn't quite have the aromatic breadth that the very best examples reveal and I rated it 94. However, when this wine is 'on', as was the case with a bottle tasted in 2008, it's genuinely magnificent with a heady and wonderfully perfumed nose of Asian spice elements, hoisin, tea, rose petal and sous-bois. There is still terrific vibrancy to the highly seductive and velvet-textured big-bodied flavors that possess first-rate density and the hallmark minerality and power of a great Richebourg before culminating in a gorgeously persistent finish that delivers almost unbelievable depth. Between the hauntingly elegant nose and unrivaled texture, one is remind of the twin genius that was Jayer and is Richebourg. I would further note that while this is fully mature, there is no reason that it shouldn't continue to drink well for years to come, which by the way is something that relatively few '85s can aspire to today.

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