2014 Domaine Arlaud Père & Fils Morey-Saint-Denis Les Ruchots Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru

The 2014 Morey-Saint-Denis Les Ruchots 1er Cru was showing some reduction on the nose and was consequently not as expressive as the Aux Chezeaux, a little muted and withdrawn by comparison. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded, chewy tannin. There is good depth and muscle to this Les Ruchots but just as I found during the Burgfest tasting in 2017, it just needs a little more weight and presence on the finish. Tasted at Flint Wines’ Arlaud retrospective.

Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2014 tasting, Domaine Arlaud's 2014 Morey St Denis 1er Cru les Ruchots has a fairly straightforward but appealing nose of brambly red fruit and light gravelly aromas. The palate is soft on the entry, more Chambolle-like than Morey, and it just loses a little depth and vigor toward the tapered finish. This is not bad, but in present company it comes across a tad nondescript and needs more weight and presence. Tasted September 2017.

Good medium red. Captivating aromas of cherry, minerals, black olive and rooty underbrush. Densely packed, ripe and seamless, but with an impression of calcaire weightlessness. Still a bit youthfully medicinal but this saline premier cru boasts serious inner-mouth tension and finishes with sweet tannins and very good savory persistence.