2015 Morey St Denis Les Chaffots

Bright, full medium red. Very ripe aromas of cherry and strawberry. Then surprisingly sappy and stylish on the palate, displaying lovely finesse of texture without any undue weight. Wonderfully broad and deep for premier cru, but with spicy high notes contributing to the wine's impression of definition and its light touch; there's also an element of medicinal reserve that I did not find in the Millandes. Best today on the very long finish, which features noble, fine-grained tannins and terrific rising perfume. I'm not sure I would have picked this blind as a 2015, in spite of the almost candied ripeness shown by the nose.

(aging in a barrel and a 160-liter jarre ): Healthy dark red. Pungent peppery lift to the aromas of red cherry, raspberry and spices. Dense, sweet and plush, but with vibrant minerality giving shape and definition to the cherry and red berry flavors. Lovely integrated acidity is in balance with the wine's firm tannic spine. The very long, resounding finish displays attractive spicy lift. This is built to age.

An expressive, ripe and airy nose features relatively primary essence of red cherry, pomegranate and earth notes. The succulent middle weight flavors possess obvious muscle along with plenty of minerality on the attractively complex if slightly austere and dry backend. While this is presently on the awkward side there appears to be excellent underlying material plus the tannins seem ripe so my range offers the benefit of the doubt. Dec 2016, www.burghound.com