2006 Bonnes Mares

Expect it to improve in bottle – although it is hard to resist now – and to be worth following for at least a decade. Arlaud's 2006 Bonnes Mares is – given what has come before it in their collection, and given the nature of this cru – predictably tartly-fruited, penetratingly herbal, shadowed by a high-toned distillate aura, and brash in its palate impact. Flavors of black raspberry, resin, and root beer convey an almost sticky sense of sweetness in the finish, along with a hint of heat. Yet at the same time there is an offsetting faint bitterness, as well as tart pungency. This intense but by no means charming, graceful, or harmonious wine needs time to put itself together, even if settling-down is not likely in the cards. It will be a wild card for cellaring, but has an awfully impressive amount of sheer energy and flavor intensity going for it.||Cyprien Arlaud – for more about whose very much family domaine and its recent progress and expansion, consult my report in issue 170 – harvested from September 23 through October 3, ending up with around a quarter less production than in 2005, and wines on which he reports having held back comparatively on fermentative extraction. The relatively low pH levels enhanced stability, says Arlaud, and they certainly help account for the tart edges and vivacity of the fruit character in so many of his wines. Save for the large volume of Bourgogne (bottled in January, 2008), all of the Arlaud 2006s were bottled in December, 2007, and Cyprien Arlaud is hypothesizing in retrospect that perhaps this has temporarily stunted certain wines whose bottlings might better have been postponed. (Note, though, that the wines are neither pumped nor filtered here now.) This explains the number of plus signs and question marks I employed in an attempt to offer shorthand accounts of my reactions, in many cases to hints of reduction, tightness, or tannic perturbation.||A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93 Wine Advocate.December, 2009