this bottle confused me.....

[Grape Stuff]

I had a 1997 Andrew Will Merlot (Pepper Bridge Vineyard). I was expecting something really great. A little age, good year, good producer, etc.

What I experianced was (ok here's the hard part) a very dark ruby color, a nose of subtle black fruit a medium body feel with very earthy flavors...almost musty, an a finish that was very long, maybe 30-40 seconds.

Lots of complex flavors, nice finish, but not a lot of fruit. So...I don't know if this bottle was:

a) Had very slight cork taint?
b) Was very old world in style?
c) Was in a dead period?

I can't say I was dissapointed with the bottle, it was just so completely different from anything I'd had before.

Any insight?