2008 Morey St Denis En la Rue de Vergy

The 2008 Morey St. Denis en la Rue de Vergy is a powerful, intense wine. The weight of Morey and the classic style of the vintage result in a wine that needs time in bottle to soften. Still, this finishes with substantial length and polish, suggesting all that is needed is time. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2028. This is a beautiful set of wines from Bruno Clair. Every wine I tasted with Clair’s longtime oenologist Philippe Brun was gorgeous from top to bottom. While the top 2009s are certainly superb, the real jewels here are the village level wines which appear to be among the great success stories of the 2009 vintage. I tasted all of the wines from barrel, except the Marsannay and Marsannay Les Vaudanelles, both of which were bottled before the 2010 harvest. In 2009 Clair began harvesting on September 15 and ended on the 23rd. I also tasted a handful of 2008s, from a much later harvest that stretched into October. The handful of wines I tasted from that vintage are equally impressive, and equally worth your time. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808, Fine Vines, Melrose Park, IL; tel. (708) 343-6702, The Source, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 621-6151

Medium red. Ripe aroma of brown spices and rocks. Ripe and easygoing but on the simple side, with less density than the Longeroies. I find this surprisingly supple today but there's good mineral energy underneath the berry and earth flavors.

Middling fruit on the nose. Very fresh but well balanced and an enjoyable mouthful of 2008 refreshment. Crunchy texture. (JR)