2005 Bourgogne Rouge

Denis Bachelet has remained a small landholder focused on purity of fruit, fidelity to terroir, and restrained fermentation. His 2005s were to be bottled in March or April. Bachelet’s 2005 Bourgogne offers scents of ripe, lightly-cooked blackberry and boysenberry, and a slightly animal note. Brighter on the palate than the nose leads one to expect, it offers a good sense of stuffing allied to juiciness and cut, with a finishing hint of tartness. (The 2004 Bachelet crus, incidentally, are refined, well-concentrated classics for that vintage, juxtaposing tart fresh fruit with a subtle creaminess, and very much worth cellaring for a few years.) Various Importers. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet; fax 011- 333-80-24-29-70.