2005 Beaune Bressandes

The Morot 2005 Beaune Bressandes displays scents of game, blackberry, wood smoke and sea breeze. Darkly-fruited on the palate, with hints of fruit skin bitterness, this is at the same time rich and marrowy, savory and juicy, as well as possessed of invigorating salinity. The tannins here are very refined and a creaminess of texture is already emerging. This has about it the aura of one of the Morot Beaunes of yesteryear – I think of the 1972 – that might become something really special. It would be most interesting and worthwhile to cellar. (Don’t be misled by my apparently conservative score: I can only rate what’s here today, and Morot wines in a vintage like this simply aren’t about being youthfully flattering and giving of themselves.) Geoffrey Choppin de Janvry reports that vine stress was becoming an issue in mid-September, so he picked his crop in just a few days. And speaking of haste, new stainless steel fermenters that replace the old wooden uprights here this year permitted Choppin to assemble and bottle all of his wines at nearly the same time, with the result that those I tasted had all either just been bottled or just prepped for imminent bottling. Around 50% new wood was employed, regardless of appellation, with the result that some wines showed overt oakiness and some did not. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

Good full ruby-red. Deep, very ripe aromas of black cherry, plum, leather and minerals. Fat and sweet on entry, then rich and minerally in the middle palate, with slowly evolving flavors of black cherry, dark berries and bitter chocolate. Powerful for this cuvee but also aromatic and fine. Finishes with substantial but sweet tannins and excellent persistence. This will need a longer elevage