1995 Bonnes Mares

The spectacular Bonnes Mares jumps from the glass with aromas of blackberries, cherries, flowers and minerals. It is a massively concentrated, powerful, full-bodied wine packed with stones, wild cherries, red currants, and touches of iron, tar and chocolate for additional complexity. Highly structured and with an exceptionally long finish, it should be cellared for 7-9 years and will hold through 2012. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy in Washington, D.C. in April. The wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Pinot Noir, a fragile varietal, reacts poorly to fining, filtration, and careless bottling techniques, I recommend caution when considering buying a red burgundy based on cask samples. I called it as I tasted it, and hope the bottled wine reflects the quality of the samples I was provided. Overall, 1995 is another in a string of successful vintages for Jadot. If there is one negociant house consumers can feel comfortable buying blindly, vintage to vintage, it is Jadot. Importer: Kobrand Corp., New York, NY; tel. (212) 490-9300

Entirely ruby color with an unusually expressive nose for a young '95 and subtle hints of budding complexity and the barest traces of secondary fruit aromas. The flavors are bitingly tannic however and it is less than obvious that this will ever lose its serious, indeed even hard edge. There is good material here but I am not especially confident that this will find the balance it presently lacks. Allen Meadows, Burghound,

The spectacular Bonnes Mares jumps from the glass with aromas of blackberries, cherries, flowers and minerals. It is a massively concentrated, powerful, full-bodied wine packed with stones, wild cherries, red currants, and touches of iron, tar and chocolate for additional complexity. Highly structured and with an exceptionally long finish, it should be cellared for 7-9 years and will hold through 2012. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy in Washington, D.C. in April. The wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Pinot Noir, a fragile varietal, reacts poorly to fining, filtration, and careless bottling techniques, I recommend caution when considering buying a red burgundy based on cask samples. I called it as I tasted it, and hope the bottled wine reflects the quality of the samples I was provided. Pierre Rovani, Wine Advocate, Jun 1997