2015 Beaune Clos des Ursules

The 2015 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Ursules from Louis Jadot is absolutely superb, wafting from the glass with a youthful but incipiently complex nose of ripe cherry, plum, dried rose petal and subtle forest floor. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, multidimensional and gourmand, with a lavishly textural attack, velvety tannins and a deep core of succulent fruit. This is one of the high points of an exceptional vintage for the Beaune hillside.

The 2015 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Ursules is fuller and more voluminous on the nose compared to Jadot's other Beaune Premier Crus, equipped with layers of red cherry, crushed strawberry and rose petal aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with sorbet-like freshness on the entry, veins of Satsuma pith and cranberry on the mid-palate, leading to a well-knitted and quite structured finish. There's class here and it may merit a higher score with a few years of ageing.

Medium red. Pure but subdued aromas of medicinal cherry and smoky, spicy oak. The richest and broadest of these Beaune wines but reticent today and in need of more élevage to gain in precision. This very backward wine finishes with ripe, building tannins. Barnier noted that he probably won't bottle the "serious" 2015s until May.