2015 Marsannay Clos du Roy

To prepare for my forthcoming tasting with Jean-Yves Bizot, I sampled a bottle of the magical 2015 Marsannay Clos du Roy from a local wine list, and it showed very well indeed. Unfurling in the glass with an inviting bouquet of red cherries, cassis, dark chocolate, subtle spices and rich soil tones, it's full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a voluptuous attack, a deep and layered mid-palate, and a long, expansive finish. Broader-shouldered than Bizot's wines from Vosne-Romanée, it's a singular expression of Marsannay that would embarrass many of the Côte de Nuits' grandest appellations in a blind tasting.