2012 Bonnes Mares

(13.3% alcohol): Medium red. Vibrant aromas of blueberry, violet and crushd rock. Dense and sappy, offering terrific cut and tension to the flavors of raspberry, pomegranate and earthy spices. Dry, classic Bonnes-Mares, showing its quality already but built for a slow and positive evolution in bottle.

The 2012 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has a powerful bouquet that has a distinct marine influence of oyster shell and seaweed. The palate is medium-bodied with quite a structured entry. The acidity is well judged with a sinewy but very focused, more Musigny-like finish. Excellent. After scheduling and re-scheduling numerous times during my November tastings, I finally reached Domaine Arlaud Pere & Fils for the first time in late January. But good things come to those that wait and I found much to admire in Cyprien Arlaud’s 2012s. The origin of the estate dates back to a wedding in 1949 when Joseph Arlaud married Renee Amiot. Among the wedding presents were tracts of vineyard, which is always more useful than a toaster or an ornamental clock. Joseph was succeeded by Herve Arlaud in 1982 and invested in new vineyards and the estate has now been passed to his three children: Cyprien, Romain and Bertille. The domaine has eschewed herbicides since 1999 and transferred the vineyards to organic viticulture in 2004, certified three years later. Naturally (no pun intended) they started embracing biodynamics in 2009, including the use of horses in the vineyard to reduce soil compaction. The winery was constructed in 2003 in Morey-Saint-Denis, on the “other side” of the RN74 away from the village, a less picturesque part of the appellation for sure, but with much more space to work in. The fruit is de-stemmed although Cyprien does play with whole cluster fruit subject to the growing season. Natural yeasts are used during alcoholic fermentation and oak tends to be 15-20% for village crus up to 40-80% for grand crus. When I visited the winery, it was after a long day tasting, but even so my senses lit up when I sipped the first sample. Here are wines made in a very pure and natural style, each evocative of their respective terroirs. Each wine was imbued with superb freshness and delineation; occasionally evoking images of the sea, at other times flowers. Cyprien explained how they wait for the optimal moment to harvest their vines, which can differ by days between different crus within the same appellation (see note for “Les Ruchots”.) Importer: North Berkeley Wine www.northberkeleyimports.com and also Raeburn Fine Wines (UK)

(one of three barrels is new): Bright medium red. Ripe, musky nose combines redcurrant, cherry, roasted herbs and underbrush, with a mounting wild berry character; quite mellow and complex. Sweet and silky on entry, then dense with extract in the middle, showing multidimensional flavors of red fruits, blueberry, minerals, orange peel, spices and crushed rock; offers the uncanny combination of saline extract and fresh fruit found only in Burgundy. Finishes with a serious spine but the tannins are ripe and complex. Based on my tasting of more than a dozen examples of 2012 Bonnes-Mares, this is a seriously good vintage for this normally austere grand cru. If Arlaud's 2012s don't quite offer the taut, high-pitched aromatics of his 2010s, their richness will make them more pleasurable earlier on.