Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 71

YEAR'S BEST RED BURGUNDY at the end, with concentrated herb scents in the middle, touching on rosemary, tarragon and sage. Dark cherry fruit and iron-hard tannins gird the underside of the wine, needing time in a decanter or in the cellar to meld with the aromatic high tones. A lovely Morgon for roast lamb. § Cognac One, NY 215038 90 | Georges Duboeuf 215048 92 | Dom. de Javernière $20 2015 Morgon Côte du Py (Best Buy) ^ This wine's purple, primary fruit concentration needs hours of air to show the mineral aspects of its tannins. They open up with an energy that cuts through the blunt power of the fruit, the acidity lengthening the flavors of black cherries and violets, and setting up the mouth for food. Great with the crisp skin and rich meat of Cantonese roast duck. § Quintessential, Napa, CA 214469 92 | Château des Jacques $28 2013 Morgon ^ Bright and lively, this wine's pretty raspberry fruit is edged in granitic tannins, sustaining its brightness and length over those tannins' formidable intensity. It's blended from estate parcels in the Côte du Py, Les Pierres, Bellevue and Roche Noire, the fruit destemmed, fermented without added yeast, and aged in used oak barrels. This will benefit from several years of bottle age. § Kobrand, Purchase, NY 215242 91 | Domaine Mee Godard $30 2014 Morgon Côte du Py ^ One of our tasters described the scent of this wine as if walking into Kalustyan's, a spice store at the center of an Indian restaurant community in NYC's East 20s: "Coriander, cumin, dried lemongrass..." The high-toned spice seems to come directly out of the tannins, their coarse abrasion hiding the light red fruit until that fruit becomes more prominent with air. It seems a small wine at first, then suddenly it's monumental, savory and powerful without any aggressive edges. This is Mee Godard's second vintage in Morgon, and it's a wine she has built to age. § Grand Cru Selections, NY 215259 $22 2015 Morgon Côte du Py (Best Buy) ^ Superripe in its flavors of dimpled cherry skin and black cherry syrup, this has serious tannins that shape the fruit, feeling as if it were cut from black stone. It's a wine that will age on tannins rather than acidity, needing a few years in the bottle to integrate. § Quintessential, Napa, CA MOULIN-A-VENT 215448 93 | Domaine Labruyère $73 2014 Moulin-à-Vent Le Clos Monopole ^ Le Clos is a 2.3-acre parcel of 70-year-old vines, their fruit destemmed and fermented in a concrete vat. It created a powerful 2014, with a major tannic presence, and fruit that stands as an equal to the tannins, youthful and invigorating, floral and ripe. There's a sense of fresh wild strawberries under all the impacted black-tea tannins, held firm and tight. Suited to long aging. § Frederick Wildman and Sons, NY 215446 90 | Domaine Labruyère $28 2014 Moulin-à-Vent Coeur de Terroirs Vieilles Vignes (Best Buy) ^ Blended from estate parcels with vines averaging 50 years of age, this wine is dark and Bretty, sustained by a powerful tannic structure that seems to set the funk aside and present a resonant, savory wine. Dark and mushroomy, this is a wine for people who are not averse to some healthy microbial activity in their Beaujolais. § Frederick Wildman and Sons, NY 90 | Maison L'Envoyé $20 2014 Moulin-à-Vent Terre de Thé Vieilles Vignes (Best Buy) ^ A youthful Beaujolais, this offers generous licorice- and cherryscented fruit up front, then dives into meaty tannins, as sweet and spicy as saucisson. The acidity brings out floral notes in the fruit, while the silky tannins are ready to pick up on the grizzle of a grilled steak-though this will only get better with a few more years of bottle age. § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA ST-AMOUR 215052 90 | Ch. de Saint-Amour $22 2015 St-Amour (Best Buy) ^ With its fullon power, this delivers concentrated strawberry, purple plum and black cherry flavors along with the grip of sandy black tannins. A clean, fruit-driven wine packed with ripeness, this has an easy appeal. § Quintessential, Napa, CA n CIDER BAR & RESTAURANT NY CIDER WEEK (10/21 to 10/30) 162 Orchard St., LES | (646) 918-6835 | wassailnyc.com http://www.duboeuf.com/Wines/Entry/Item/morgon_morgon_cote_du_py_-41.sls http://www.maisonlenvoye.com/ http://www.duboeuf.com/Wines/Entry/Item/morgon_morgon_cote_du_py_-41.sls http://www.duboeuf.com/Wines/Entry/Item/saint_amour_saint_amour_selection_georges_duboeuf_-58.sls http://www.wassailnyc.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2016