Considerable amber at the edge is evident in this dark garnet-colored wine. With a big nose of sweet maple syrup intermixed with foresty notes plum fig and currants it is sweeter and riper than its more famous sibling the 1975. In the mouth the wine shows some hard edges and angularity which is so typical of Ausone but there is a lot of character and a concentrated medium-bodied mid-palate. The finish is paradoxically both sweet and sour with ripeness and glycerin but at the same time high tannin. Seemingly at a plateau of maturity this wine could easily hang at this level for decades. Anticipated maturity: Now-2020. Last tasted 1/02. -Bordeaux Book4th Edition