2016 Morgon

Nose of fresh violets, cranberries and blue fruit. Fresh on the palate with good balance of seamless tannins with crushed red fruit. Long on the fruit. Very pleasant and lean. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink now.

After the ripe, dramatic (and sometimes unstable) 2015, the 2016 Morgon from Lapierre is a more classical rendition of this emblematic bottling, offering up a lovely bouquet of black cherry, plum, rich soil and wood smoke. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, supple and bright, with racy acids, fine but savory tannins and a tangy, lingering finish. Lapierre's back label prophesies a good five years of longevity, and I see no need to dissent. Note that this refers to the export cuvée that sees a light sulfur addition at bottling.

Brilliant ruby-red. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes fresh red berries, cherry pit, smoky minerals and candied flowers. Offers sappy, sharply focused raspberry, bitter cherry and lavender flavors that show very good depth and pick up a hint of five-spice powder with air. Fine-grained tannins give shape to a very long, mineral-accented finish that shows excellent clarity and incisive cut. This bottling gets a sulfur addition and its back label has the letter "S" on the left-hand side.