2007 Bonnes Mares

De Vogue’s 2007 Bonnes Mares calls to mind sweet-tart black raspberry candies and herbal lozenges, along with notes of brown spices and smoky black tea. Rich, sedate, and provocatively sweet and perfumed, this manages simultaneously to preserve a saline savor and suggestion of lobster shell reduction that precludes anyone calling it a “fruit bomb.” The smoky and – for lack of a better covering term – “mineral” elements accompany this Bonnes Mares’ soothing finish all the way to its distant end. No doubt there is at least a decade’s worth of seduction and intrigue on hand, but here too, I would not hesitate to relish them significantly sooner. Francois Millet – always keen to pinpoint the expression of fruit he finds in each vintage – characterizes that of 2008 as “syrup-like,” and of 2007 as “candied.” I am skeptical that these metaphors can be generalized, but under no circumstances should “syrup-like” be taken as an attempt to deny the brightness or transparency displayed by so many of the best 2008s, including these. “To have been picked late” – in this instance, starting September 27 – “to have been picked cold, and to have fermented very slowly to created the largest amount of glycerol to combine with the freshness of the vintage,” opines Millet, constitutes a significant part of the 2008s’ secret, seduction, even mystery. “Late malo” – here completed in August – he adds, “was also good, so that the vintage could have a true childhood, and slowly, surely build itself. If we had had a southern wind when the weather changed, maybe we would have lost that identity of 2008. But by there being a northern wind, the evolution was continued” i.e. in a constant, cool trajectory. Not to short-change it, the 2007 vintage collection here is one of those few capable of standing direct comparison to its immediate successor – or indeed to nearly any other vintage from this address. Imported by Dreyfus Ashby, New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770; also a Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93

Very good bright red. Complex but youthfully restrained nose hints at dark raspberry, mocha, herbs and smoke. Quite suave for young Bonnes-Mares, with a slightly medicinal quality to the candied fruit and spice flavors. This has the firm acidity of hard candy and seems more red fruit than usual for this cuvee The tannins arrive late, allowing the finish to expand and linger. This is a lovely example of its vintage.

Good full medium red. Wild but rather reticent aromas of red berries, brown spices and mocha. Sweet on entry, then sappy and vibrant in the middle, with perfumed notes of crunchy blueberry, peony, rose, pepper and fresh herbs. There's a captivating spicy edge to the fruit, as well as a hint of citrus, but the minerality of the site is hidden today. A very elegantly styled Bonnes-Mares, finishing with lovely lift and a light touch.