2014 Georges Roumier - Bonnes Mares

Dark red. A sexy hint of woodsmoke complements sweet scents of cherry liqueur and purple berries. Tight-grained and fine, but with terrific inner-mouth lift to its dark berry, spice and violet flavors. Wonderfully juicy, lively wine with a light touch. Not a fleshy powerhouse, and not showing the obvious mineral structure today of the Ruchottes-Chambertin, but this utterly seamless wine is richer and fruitier. The noble tannins are almost invisible today and yet the finish boasts terrific thrust. This knockout will need a solid decade to approach maturity.

Bright, dark ruby-red. Pure, brooding aromas of black raspberry, blackberry, violet and licorice. Suave and fine-grained but tightly wound in the early going, with the violet element lifting the intense purple fruit and licorice flavors. Not particularly expressive today: a distinctly tannic, structured style of 2014, from a crop level of just 30 hectoliters per hectare. As is his usual practice, Roumier vinified his fruit from red and lighter soil separately but in 2014 he combined the two cuvées when the wines went in to barrel.