2002 des Varoilles, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos des Varoilles
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose starts with a hint of herb, a little leafy development, soil and some high-tones above – it leaves me with the expectation that the wine could be a little mouth-puckering. Actually, far from it; there is decent density and still good weight to the texture despite being in its ‘middle years’. The red fruit is ripe enough to offer a soothing sweet element that balances fine-grained tannins with a faint edge of bitterness. After 20 minutes the nose is rounding-out and augmented with a decent red fruit note, which now better reflects the flavours. This was very tasty as a baby and is still more than fit for purpose now – it should make a lovely bottle in 5+ years…
Rebuy – Yes