Description
Perhaps their most celebrated flagship cuvée, this is the lone terre brune entrant, from a single very steep terraced parcel in les Rochins. 30% whole cluster, aged in 40% new oak, from 20 year old vines; the first vintage for this cuvée was 2003. This is their Grand cru Brune bottling, self-evidently of great harmonious class and intensity, at once voluptuous and ever rising on the finish. I only wish I could offer more……this one is likely to involve hair splitting come allocations time…..
“An expressive, highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe dark berries, cherry, licorice and olive, and a smoky mineral flourish adds energy. Fleshy and broad on the palate, offering alluringly sweet black/blue fruit flavors that unfold slowly on the back half. Rich yet lively, showing superb clarity and youthfully gripping tannins on the long, sappy, blue-fruit-driven finish.” 93-95 Josh Raynolds for the 2019, NOT THE 2020 OFFERED HERE
“dark robe; the nose bears excellent promise, light grilling, smoke, dark berry fruit, good depth and width, cherry fruit, lots of style. The palate serves gossamer touch cruising black fruits, great finesse throughout, is highly appealing. The balance is good. The tannins are well layered, less deep than the Lancement 2019. “There is more clay in the soil on Rochains than Lancement, which helps its balance. 2019 was very heterogeneous across the lieux-dits – Rochains is usually more dense than this. The 2019 acidity has fended off the degree. This year it was 13° to 13.5° on the plateau – usually it’s hard to achieve 12.5° there,” Kévin Garon. 28-30 years” – 4.5 stars John Livingstone Learmonth for the 2019, NOT THE 2020 OFFERED HERE
