Domaine le Couroulu Vacqueyras, 1998

Hard and offputting when it was young, this wine has gone through a beautiful evolution. The heavy crust on the side of the bottle shows how much tannin has been shed over the past decade plus. A couple of years ago, bright raspberry notes were front and center but these have given way to mature, somewhat funky, Vacqueyras traits--dark fruits, licorice, spice, black minerals and leather. It's medium bodied and savory with a long, ripe finish. It's not as funky on the palate as it is on the nose. But, as far as I'm concerned, a bit of funkiness is necessary to define Vacqueyras. This is good old fashioned stuff, one of my favorites of the appellation. I believe this is my last bottle, and, if so, I timed it nicely.