2014 Clos Vougeot

Slightly dull medium red. The nose offers compelling complexity, with black raspberry and redcurrant aromas complemented by dried flowers, licorice, smoky oak and sweet earth. Plush, broad and seamless, displaying liqueur-like ripeness but also sound acidity to frame its red fruit flavors. Savary herb and earth notes add interest. Finishes sweet and long, with substantial broad, dusty tannins and an element of deep smoky minerality that gave the wine increasing appeal with extended aeration.

The 2014 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru comes from the bottom, middle and top of the vineyard, one barrel each then blended together. The bouquet is poised and delineated with wet limestone scents infusing the red berry fruit, brisk and vivid. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp red cherry and strawberry fruit, tensile and structured with a lovely saline thread that lends this Clos Vougeot animation and tension. This is a very fine Clos Vougeot brimming with nascent energy.

(Saouma has three barrels of this juice, one each from the lower, middle and upper sections of the clos ): Full red. Very ripe aromas of red cherry, coffee and wild herbs accented by a note of licorice; one can smell the weight of the wine. Tactile, spicy and powerful on the palate, communicating a chewy impression to the flavors of red fruits, rare steak and coffee. An earthy Châteauneuf du Pape element accentuates this wine's southern character. The wine's big, mouthfilling tannins are fully supported by its rich mid-palate material. Finishes very long and saline. I would not be surprised if this wine ultimately merited a rating at the top end of my projected range.