2014 St Nicolas de Bourgueil Vin d'une Oreille

The 2014 Vin d’une Oreille is another Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil whose Cabernet Franc grapes were macerated for six days (carbonic maceration), extracted by foot treading and naturally fermented and aged for 36 months on the full lees in old Burgundian barrels. Dark berry aromas on the nose lead to a full-bodied, intense, silky-textured, fresh and spicy, powerful Cabernet Franc with present yet ripe and integrated tannins. The wine was never racked prior to the bottling, but the barrels were smoothly rotated from time to time. I tasted this back in the summer of 2018 during an appellation tasting with several producers. As much as I like the 2016 three years later, I am surprised by my three-year-old impression of the 2014. Can it really be that much less fascinating?