2005 Morey St Denis Les Bussieres

Great freshness and life. Lots of griottes-cherry flavours plus some autumnal undergrowth. Should open up nicely with lovely fine tannins. This will be bottled relatively late. (JR)

Like the rest of the wines here at the time I tasted, Roumier’s 2005 Morey St. Denis Clos de la Bussiere had been sulfured and racked in autumn after a very late malo and was in barrel awaiting imminent assemblage in tank for (unfiltered) bottling. It was slightly reduced but responded well to a good shaking, displaying subtle black fruits, high-toned almond and maraschino, roasted meatiness, resin, and forest floor notes on the nose. It fills the mouth with roasted meat richness, bitter-sweet black fruits, high-toned distilled fruit esters, and finishes with solidity, grip, and savory saltiness. One senses that Christophe Roumier considers 2005 a high point of his career, and my visit with him was among the high points of my recent trip. He describes this as “a classic vintage lending itself to very calm, classic vinification,” which given the opportunities afforded by perfectly healthy, firm, dry, ripe fruit involved triage almost solely to remove ladybugs, and included around 25% whole clusters in the fermenters at the Premier Cru level and 50% at that of Grand Cru. Importer: Diageo Chateau and Estate Wines Company, New York, NY; tel. (212) 419-1400.