1985 Pierre Bourée Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Clos de la Justice

Of course, Clos de la Justice in Gevrey-Chambertin is not a Premier Cru, but Vallet owns this property and makes what is certainly the finest red burgundy from the "wrong" or eastern side of the Route Nationale 74 that runs through Burgundy's famed Cote d'Or. I thought the 1985 Clos de la Justice the finest example I have ever tasted of this wine. It is deep ruby with a super bouquet of ripe plummy fruit and hickory smoke. This full-bodied wine is quite concentrated and very long. It should be at its peak between 1990-2005. Vallet thinks his 1985s are the best wines made by the firm since the 1949s. In general, I found the 1985s to be richly colored, very structured wines with the best of them quite special.