1990 Roc de Cambes

I have been a big believer in this Cote de Bourg made by the obsessive/compulsive Francois Mitjavile, who is better known for his outstanding small St.-Emilion estate, Le Tertre-Roteboeuf. I initially rated these wines 89 for the 1990 and 88 for the 1989. In this recent tasting I was thrilled to see how well the wines showed. Both are fully mature, yet capable of lasting another 7-8 years. With the price escalation for wines such as Le Tertre-Roteboeuf, I suppose Roc de Cambes will now be known as the "poor person's Roteboeuf." The 1990 barely edged out the 1989. The deep ruby/garnet-colored 1990 offers a creamy, smoky, roasted nut, jammy black-cherry-scented nose, followed by soft, round, supple flavors, outstanding concentration, and a low acid, plush finish. This delicious offering is proof that wines from lowly regarded appellations can be just as delicious as those that possess higher pedigrees and cost 5-6 times as much. Both the 1989 and 1990 are at their peak of maturity, but with its greater length and riper fruit, the 1990 will outlive the 1989 by 3-5 years. Readers who bought these wines early should be pleased that their $16-$18 investments now taste like wines costing $50-$100.