2010 Monthelie Les Duresses

The 2010 Monthélie Les Duresses shows fabulous intensity and raciness in its dark red berries, flowers, mint and licorice. The Monthélie impresses for its striking inner perfume and fabulous overall balance. It is a highly promising wine from Dominique Lafon.

Good red-ruby. Pungent aromas of cranberry, bitter chocolate and spicy oak. Sappy, spicy and high in acidity, with lovely energy to the youthfully imploded flavors of black cherry, cranberry and flowers. Finishes with a firm spine of tannins. My sample had a bit more new oak than the finished blend will have, as more of the new barrels had finished their malos.

The 2010 Monthelie Les Duresses shows fabulous intensity and raciness in its dark red berries, flowers, mint and licorice. The Monthelie impresses for its striking inner perfume and fabulous overall balance. It is a highly promising wine from Dominique Lafon. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020. There are two recurring themes every time I taste with Dominique Lafon; this is always one of the top visits in Burgundy, and there never seems to be enough time to explore all of the nuances in each of these wines. Lafon was fortunate to escape the vintage with just 20% lower yields than 2009, which here translates to 32 hectoliters per hectare as compared to 35 in a normal year and 40 in an abundant year. The malos were very, very slow. In fact, there were a few barrels still finishing their malos in early December, 2011. The 2009 reds have also turned out beautifully. I will report on those wines in the April issue. Importers: Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA, tel. (781) 352 1100; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559 1040; A Daniel Johnnes Selection imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY, tel. (516) 677 9300