2010 Bourgogne Cuvee de Noble Souche

Woody, even a touch cedary, on the nose but the fruit shines through on the palate. Relatively light but finely weighted overall. Delicate but persistent with a mouthwateringly fresh finish. (JH)

The 2010 Bourgogne emerges from the glass with freshly cut roses, sweet red berries, spices and licorice. This is all about silkiness and pure refinement, both of which the wine has in spades. The Bourgogne is a big overachiever in this vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018. Arnaud Mortet is focused on making elegant, refined wines. In 2010 he sought to achieve that through gentle extraction and less use of new oak barrels, which is broadly the direction his winemaking is headed, notwithstanding the many particulars that present themselves each year. Mortet planned to age the 2010s fifteen months in barrel, then rack the wines into steel. Yields are of course down across the board, but that won’t be much of a surprise to readers given the vintage. Overall, the Mortet 2010s are striking for their beauty and transparency. The 2009 also showed brilliantly from bottle. I will report on those wines in the April issue. Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400