2017 Moulin a Vent Champ de Cour

There are some 2,000 bottles of the 2017 Moulin-à-Vent Champ de Cour, one of the lieux-dits that was least impacted by the year's hail storms. Revealing aromas of cherries, dark berry fruit, candied peel and vanilla pod, it's full-bodied, layered and chewy, with firm tannins and an oak-inflected finish. There's clearly serious raw material here and thoughtful vilification, too, but I can't help feeling that the wine's fruit is somewhat surpassed on the palate by the supplemental oak phenolics. In short, the question is whether this Moulin-à-Vent will ever become truly charming? My score gives it the benefit of the doubt, but the cuvée's track record suggests that's optimistic.