2006 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

Sweetly ripe black raspberry, pungently bitter-sweet herbal concentrate (bay, fennel, and horehound), buddleia perfume, and wood smoke vie for attention in the aromatic display of Dujac's 2006 Bonnes Mares. It exhibits a sweetness and concentration of primary fruit one rarely encounters in this vintage, yet it tones down the savagery of the site in its textural refinement and the sense of harmoniously entwined threads of fruit, herb, floral, and carnal flavors in a long finish that still doesn't lack for the "sizzle" of berry skin, citrus zest, and herbal bitter-sweetness. Where the corresponding Echezeaux displays vintage-typical virtues, this is something of an exception. I suspect it will also be exceptionally age-worthy in the context of its vintage, and probably worth following for at least a decade. Jeremy Seysses only destemmed a minority of his 2006 fruit, and in some appellations none. The results demonstrate that Dujac got things ripe – not to mention right – in a challenging vintage, with a collection that need not fear comparison with 2005 at this address. (Perhaps, if anything, 2005 ought to look to its laurels!) The team here started picking only on September 23, and then very meticulously and selectively. Clos de la Roche, for example, was picked in two passes nearly a week apart. The top wines came in at between 13 and 13.5% natural alcohol, with minimal chaptalization employed in some instances to extend fermentation. "Color and flavor extraction was easy," says Seysses, "and we did more punch-downs than in 2005, because we felt quite confident of our material. The fruit is fresh and crisp, but not green, and we had no jamminess. It was just right. There's very little to complain about." Indeed! Jeremy Seysses only destemmed a minority of his 2006 fruit, and in some appellations none. The results demonstrate that Dujac got things ripe – not to mention right – in a challenging vintage, with a collection that need not fear comparison with 2005 at this address. (Perhaps, if anything, 2005 ought to look to its laurels!) The team here started picking only on September 23, and then very meticulously and selectively. Clos de la Roche, for example, was picked in two passes nearly a week apart. The top wines came in at between 13 and 13.5% natural alcohol, with minimal chaptalization employed in some instances to extend fermentation. "Color and flavor extraction was easy," says Seysses, "and we did more punch-downs than in 2005, because we felt quite confident of our material. The fruit is fresh and crisp, but not green, and we had no jamminess. It was just right. There's very little to complain about." Indeed! Importer: The Sorting Table, Napa, CA; tel. (415) 491-4724