Four days after our panel met, staffers gathered to taste the top wines with their labels revealed, and Ray Isle noted this as an ideal vintage for Gruaud, one in which the fruit can live up to the structure. looking back at my notes across several days, this wine had been fighting its oak when first opened, hinting at rose under the primary fruit intensity. Floral qualities became more distinct over the next two days, the energy rising, the wine brightening to the scent of fresh, floral grapes and rose petals, even as the structure limited all the sweetness of the fruit. Now knowing what this heady, dense wine is, the structure makes sense, as does my note from the first day: gracious as a classic Bordeaux.