This is more expressive on the nose than Ausone ’97 with sweet red-berried fruit: wild strawberry, orange peel and just a faint hint of brown sugar. Full-bodied n the palate with firm structure, very Merlot-driven and lacking the Cabernet Franc to lend it an additional dimension. Attractive, but a pale imitation of a great Cheval Blanc. Would be dwarfed by the ensuing vintage!