2002 Morey St Denis Les Ruchots

Good medium red. Decadent, open-knit aromas of plum, redcurrant, licorice and violet pastille complicated by mulch and spices. Boasts good texture on entry and some mid-palate sweetness but the wine's serious tannins invade the middle palate and shorten the finish. "I was very young then and I did too much extraction," said Cyprien Arlaud: "a longer cold maceration and one pigeage per day. But since then I've learned that even a great vintage needs a delicate touch." In fact, he added, he saw some similarities between 2014 and 2002 and that's why he cut back on extraction in '14.