2017 Nenin

Precise and sculpted, rippling with blackberry, redcurrant fruits, with a touch of slate minerality and restrained mint leaf freshness on the finish. You can feel the deft winemaking bringing out the detail on the tannins, and at five years old it is blossoming, and full of pleasure - not as long living as the 2016 or 2018, but excellent quality. 35% new oak. This was a frost year, with the lowest yield on record at 14.5hl/h, meaning less than half of the usual amount of 1st wine, with just 15,000 bottles. 3.75ph, 40% new oak.

Tasted blind. Mid ruby colour. Quite raw and aggressively youthful on the nose, this almost still feels like a barrel sample. Powerful cherry and kirsch. The palate is better knit together, with jewels of vibrant cherry and plum fruit, together with fine-grained tannins and graphite savour. Plump and rounded, there is an approachability to the structure here. I would suggest decanting this for the sake of aroma, but the palate is ready to go. (TP)

The 2017 Nénin is super-expressive and energetic, with tons of Franc character driving its profile. Rose petal, mint, crushed flowers and savory herbs give the 2017 its distinctly aromatic profile. Because of frost, the Franc plays a larger role in the blend, and that most definitely comes through. Although a bit eccentric, Nénin is wonderfully nuanced and alluring in 2017.