Community Tasting Note

• nskelsey Likes this wine: 93 points

  February 26, 2018 - I first tasted this wine in 2009 and it was an absolute monster of power and concentration. Not a style I particularly like, but enormously impressive all the same. 9 years on it's beginning to come together, but still has a long way to go. This Domaine tends to pick much later than its neighbours and harvesting here didn't take place until October and this is quite evident in the ripeness of the fruit. In colour this sample is tending towards amber, but on the nose it is gloriously ripe and densely perfumed tending towards the dark fruit end of the spectrum. On the palate there's earth, mineral and game notes with a slight medicinal undercurrent of menthol. I know that doesn't sound overly appetising, but I find it a distinctive characteristic of this wine and gives it an impressive austerity in the same way as a Clos de Vougeot; you certainly wouldn't mistake this for a Chambolle! The finish is firm and of good length too. What is noticeable is the tannin! This sample is 11 years old and tastes like it was bottled yesterday. I decanted it for two hours and everything began to come together a little, but at the moment it is very much a food wine. This is going to take years to come around, which gives me slight cause for concern as one doesn't want the fruit drying out before the tannins integrate, but given the ripe concentration of fruit here it should have the substance to beautifully mellow in time. If you have a few bottles cellared then there's not an argument for not opening up a bottle now to see how things are developing, but if you only have one or two then I really wouldn't broach them for another 5 years at least, and probably more. Impressive winemaking. Estimated maturity: 2020-2030+

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