2002 Clos Vougeot Vieilles Vignes

(30 h/h; 9/20 harvest): Moderately saturated medium red with an amber edge. A sexy note of torrefaction to the aromas of chocolate-covered dark cherries, licorice, dried flowers and underbrush. Wonderfully fresh, silky and spherical; perfectly ripe but not overripe, with its sweet fruit character complicated by sappy, saline soil tones and a note of menthol. There's nothing out of place here. This wine displays the definition of the best '02s and finishes wonderfully suave, with building tannins and rising length. Labet told me this is his favorite 21st-century vintage (at least until the 2016), describing it as "a prototype of elegance, balance and finesse" while emphasizing that "finesse doesn't mean weakness." He added: "Wines are like planes: they have to reach their cruising altitude." This one is turbulence-free.