Far less impressive after bottling than it was from cask, this wine is now a candidate for drying out given its hollow middle and hard, austere, angular finish. The color is medium ruby, the wine has moderate weight and sweet fruit in the nose and on the attack, but it closes down to reveal a tart, spartan personality. Anticipated maturity, 2000-2008. Neither the 1995 nor 1996 performed as well as they had in the past, both suffering from hard tannin, austere, dry personalities, and with respect to the 1995, tasting stripped, as if it had been excessively fined and/or filtered.