2005 Domaine Dujac Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru

This is made up mainly of Ruchots. Very showy, gorgeous nose and full of zest and life – almost cheeky, it has so much to say for itself. There’s a lightness of touch here with real race yet no shortage of structure. Appetising dry finish. (JR)

From four parcels, primarily Les Ruchots (just beneath Bonnes Mares and Clos de Tart) plus four from the excellent string of crus north of town, the Dujac 2005 Morey-St.-Denis 1er Cru offers a pungent nose of incense, Latakia tobacco, black pepper and bitter-sweet cherry. Equally intensely concentrated in flavor, it combines dark berries, pungent herbal essences, and stony, chalky mineral character. The more soothing, sweet and gentle yet seemingly equally-concentrated estate village Morey is flattered by comparison with this firmer, more severe premier cru, a wine whose finish practically grabs you by the tonsils, and certainly has the edge in sheer intensity. It would be most interesting to revisit and compare both in 3-5 years. The already rich array of crus at Domaine Dujac has recently been augmented on two fronts. The purchase (along with de Montille) of the Societe Civile du Clos de Thorey (Thomas-Moillard) has brought them a raft of choice parcels including three new grand cru holdings (for a staggering total of eight). Meanwhile, they have expanded their negociant arm (with control over harvest and green harvest a prerequisite) to supplement in particular their volumes of village-level wine. (Those wines – labeled “Dujac Fils & Pere” – are signified in the above listing with “FP”. In fact, due to a legal technicality, the 2005 vintage wines from the properties newly acquired by the domaine – but not subsequent vintages – will also read “Fils & Pere” rather than “Domaine”.) Even with California-trained oenologist Diana Seysses (nee Snowden) joining her husband Jeremy and in-laws Jacques and Alec, and with a new winery (though at the old address) I wonder at how they are able to keep up with the magnitude of their responsibilities. Yet despite so many parcels and vines new to them this year, the results are consistently outstanding and at times astounding. Much of the vinification – increasingly as one goes up the hierarchy of crus – was of whole clusters. Malos finished (finally) by November and the wines were bottle in December and January. Importer: The Sorting Table, Napa, CA; tel.(415) 491 4724