2005 Clos St Denis

Good medium-deep red. Very sexy nose dominated by violet and dried rose, with a note of meaty reduction. Dense, sweet and thick; offers unusual volume for a young Clos Saint-Denis. But this impressively broad-shouldered wine finishes with terrific grip, vibrant acids and outstanding subtle persistence.

Amazingly, Saouma relates not only that his 2005 Clos St.-Denis only finished its alcoholic fermentation (with 14.5% alcohol) more than a year after harvest, but every year the wine from this cru completes its alcoholic fermentation only after completing the malolactic. He claims that this site’s sandy, porous soil promotes both high extract and high sugar. Bitter-sweet black cherry and chocolate, peat, and humus fill the nose. The rich, voluminous palate is dominated by chocolate-covered cherries with bitter cherry pit accents. Opulent and rich, certainly amazingly powerful, this wine nevertheless retains clarity and subtlety, betraying only the slightest trace of heat in its long, palate-staining, smoky, peat-like, bitter-sweetly black-fruited finish. Certainly this seems a candidate for long aging, although its shape and personality may well change significantly in coming months, given how recently it began its post-fermentative existence. Wine Advocate.June, 2007