2007 Bonnes Mares

(aging in 50% new oak) Good deep red. Aromas of currant, brown spices, iron, menthol, licorice and pepper. Shows the classic medicinal flavors of young Bonnes-Mares but comes across as sweet, round and fat with fruit, with none of the hardness of this grand cru. Finishes with strong acids and an impression of rather low acidity. This sample was pulled prior to the racking a couple days before my visit. Another sample taken after the racking showed fresher black fruit and licorice aromas and more inner-palate life and spine. This was 12.8% potential alcohol, chaptalized to 13.2%. This vineyard is planted "on all white soil, next to Clos de Tart and Roumier's Bonnes-Mares holding," noted Bruno Clair.