Certan de May

Robert Parker (Dec 94)
First the good news. Certan de May’s 1992 is obviously a powerful, concentrated wine, with the intensely herbaceous side of Certan de May fortunately subdued. The result is a wine with a forcefully rich, blackcurrant nose combined with scents of smoky new oak, tobacco, and herbs, medium to full body, a soft, silky texture, excellent concentration, low acidity, and soft tannin. It should be drinkable when released and age well for 10-12 years. The bad news is that some bottles reveal a damp, musty, cardboard character in the bouquet but not in the flavors. If it is not a cork problem, might this musty element relate to the use of steam in coopering or cleaning the barrels, with the steam’s moisture trapped in the wood’s interior, giving off unclean aromas of wood? I would welcome readers’ thoughts on this wine.