The nose shows depth, width and complexity – of fruit – a totally different animal to the previous wine, eventually also delivering a floral aroma too. Silken entry, this is round and concentrated, and like the Le Moine also delivers a bitter-chocolate tannin in the finish – the first obvious oak artefact. Very lovely wine – you would be hard pressed to guess the vintage.
Medium colour. Here’s a nose with something to say; faint spearmint above very, very pretty red fruit that’s eventually augmented by the perfume of violets – far from over the top, but captivating – the mint eventually becoming just a suggestion of herbs. In the mouth there’s a sorbet-edge to the acidity and understated red fruit – delicate and complex. It seems to fade relatively quickly but holds on well to a final mineral note. The tannin is only there if you search it out, very faintly astringent. This is an achingly pretty wine that blind, who’s to say it’s not from Volnay…
Medium, medium-plus colour. There’s a hint of herb, but essentially the nose starts deeper and darker than the Cent Vignes, perhaps it’s that faint note of reduction, but this certainly has the classical 2008 darker fruit! As the wine opens it more clearly shows the family (cuverie) relationship to the Cent Vignes as the aromas become redder and an more floral – very nice indeed. This is much more about up-front intensity, a hint of oak and much more than a hint of acidity – this will need a little unwinding. I’d say about an hour of aeration is needed for a more balanced interpretation – it’s the Cent Vignes with more ‘bang’ – not necessarily better, just different. I have a slight preference for the CV but wouldn’t turn either of these down…
Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose shows a faint savoury edge but little else for at least an hour, swirl madly a there’s dark but tight core of fruit with faint oak seasoning. Given plenty of time (2+hours) the nose shows a little inky depth before sticking with a glossy dark red/black fruit personality, only the last drops have a pure redcurrant essence. The palate starts just a little tart, but within 30 minutes it’s opened a little addng both texture and sweetness of fruit – from the start it is intense but it’s a linear intensity. For the life of the bottle it never quite fulfils it’s potential – the acidity remains just-about in balance (sorbet-like), and despite its intensity the wine offers only a very linear experience – even on day two. Everything seems in place, but I don’t know how long we might have to wait to see a ‘wow’.
Medium-plus colour, also with plenty of purple. Deeper aromatics and initially a little reductive – yet only 10 minutes in the glass unlocks round yet full, ripe, dark cherry and higher tones – the aromas cling to the glass. Versus the Montille this is much rounder and fuller in the mouth – it also seems longer, but a fair amount of that flavour is barrel derived. Only about 30 minutes are required for this to fully unwind, yet despite its dimensions, this is a little less complex than the Montille today. Still a super wine.
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