2005 Morey St Denis Les Millandes

Certainly ripeness and sheer intensity are not in question here. A 2005 Morey-St.-Denis Les Millandes leads with lightly-cooked blackberry and resinous, smoky, bacon fat accents on the nose, fills the mouth with glossy, concentrated, almost liqueur-like blackberry fruit, nut oils, and oak-induced macaroon, vanilla and resin. There is a fortunate preservation of acidity helping keep the finish lively and the wine’s abundant tannins are undeniably fruit-coated. PLEASE NOTE: Due to a technical difficulty, I have been regrettably unable to access my taped tasting notes on the enormous range of wines that Frederic Magnien vinifies under his own name as a negociant. Their style is very similar to that of the Michel Magnien wines. A number of his ostensibly lesser cuvees offer striking richness for their price, and a lengthy line-up of celebrated crus included numerous not surprisingly impressive – and indeed flamboyant – wines. There is among these, however, a tendency toward extraneous, toasted-oak sweetness and occasional flirtation with over-ripeness, that will not appeal to some tasters. But readers craving extroverted and sweetly-rich Pinot are going to find a lot to like at Maison Frederic Magnien. The wines Frederic Magnien makes at his family estate seem to exhibit slightly less flamboyance than many of those he vinifies as a negociant, but certainly they are formidably, at times almost overbearingly, palate-staining, with abundant underlying tannins and in most instances lavish sweet spiciness of oak. Due to a technical malfunction, my notes on several of the wines from this domaine are sadly missing. A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011-33-1-42-55-42-93.