2014 Domaine Denis Mortet Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

(from millerandé vines that yielded just 20 hectoliters per hectare in both 2014 and 2015): Good full red. Captivating scents of raspberry, underbrush, smoke and minerals. Dense and savory on the palate, with the black raspberry and mineral flavors complicated by earth and brown spices. This wine comes from mostly white soil in the middle of the cru. Finishes with serious but smooth tannins and a sappy reserve that will require long aging. Incidentally, the 2014 Mazis-Chambertin was made by Mortet through a metayage agreement with the same grower as this wine, but production of the Mazis was a more generous 35 hectoliters per hectare in 2014.

(from 50-year-old millerandé vines on mostly white soil in the middle of the cru; the yield was just 20 hectoliters per hectare in 2014, as Mortet had to replant a lot of missing vines; three of the four barrels were new): Deep aromas of ripe black fruits, wild herbs and smoky minerality. Powerful but elegant Bonnes-Mares, showing lovely inner-mouth mineral tension to its dark berry and saline flavors. Delivers more perfume and lift than the Mazis-Chambertin. Seriously structured wine but not hard, and very long on the aftertaste. Mortet told me that "the vines are tired but the soil here is in good shape."

The 2014 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is the second new addition to the domaine, the same métayage as the Mazi-Chambertin, although I suspect that this will be far superior. It comes from the terre blanches on the Chambolle-Musigny side. It has a more refined and harmonious bouquet than the Mazi-Chambertin, with a touch of mint infusing the red and black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with superb energy and vigor, fine tannin and a sorbet-like freshness on the finish.This is wonderful.