92 John Gilman - View from the Cellar

"After having been a bit disappointed in this bottling from the 1989 vintage that I reported on last summer, I was very pleased to cross paths with this fine 1990. A guest at the Loire tasting that I led here in the city for a subscriber's festive fiftieth birthday celebration noted that we were tasting Loire wines that evening and generously ran back to her apartment to grab a bottle of this wine, which she had just found a case or two of at New York merchant. The nose on the 1990 Picasses is excellent, as it offers up notes of red and dark berries, woodsmoke, a touch of mint, some game tones, sous bois, coffee and just a touch of caramel. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep, complex and autumnal, with fine focus and balance, melting tannins, and a long, classy finish that closes with impressive grip and notes of coffee and caramel. Lovely juice, and decidedly cleaner and more complete than the bottle of the 1989 sampled last summer. 2007-2017+"