2004 Château Monbousquet (France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru)

Dark, chocolaty garnet red color. Nose is exploding with blackberry, espresso, tar, and licorice. Really solid on the palate with massive structure and good balance. Flavors are notably of blackberry and chocolate covered coffee beans. Finish is very long. Not for traditionalists (at least not right now), but a great young Monbousquet that is absolutely true to its St. Emilion origins. In my opinion, the best Monbousquet since the 2000. On a side note, I drove by Monbousquet when I was in Bordeaux in July 2006 and I was impressed by its location that is west and south of D670 on a fairly flat plot of land.