2007 Bonnes Mares

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2007 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has shut down considerably in the last few years, and it's clear that this is one of the few 2007 red Burgundies truly built from the long haul. The wine unfurls in the glass with a youthfully reserved bouquet of red and black cherries, peony, orange zest and woodsmoke that's far less extroverted and explosive than it was only four years ago. On the palate, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a tight-knit core, fine-grained structuring tannins and a long, stony finish. At this stage, the 2006 rendition is much more approachable, and I'd advise readers who own the 2007 to forget it for the better part of a decade.

The 2007 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is a vintage that I have not encountered before. It has a slightly herbaceous bouquet, the red fruit tinged with scents of black truffle, damp loam and woodland. These aromatics are understated and elegant for a Bonnes-Mares, perhaps not as complex as other vintages, yet you are charmed by its openness. The palate is marked by a fine bead of acidity, not terribly complex however it would be mean to ignore the elegance and charm of this Bonnes-Mares that, to quote Christophe Roumier himself “...was never supposed to age”. Tasted at the Roumier vertical in London.