I’m sitting down to a few exciting wines tonight, of which this is one. I was a little concerned about its youth but this is an immediately expressive, enticing wine.

Line and length; this has, above all else, tremendous palate structure and persistence. I often feel flavours are privileged in wine appreciation above other, arguably more important, aspects of wine like texture and architecture — those elements that give a wine its narrative. This has plenty of complexity within its savoury flavour profile: cherries, exotic spices, undergrowth, roasted meat. There’s also a decent whack of toasted oak to help things along, and I find the oak especially well matched to the fruit flavours here.

Yet the main events here are mouthfeel and line, one modulating through a series of textural moments as the other ushers each flavour and texture element onto the tongue. This is fascinating to taste because it’s so sinewy and light in the mouth, yet with such drive and length, and such variation too. It’s far from delicate — in fact, its flavours are quite masculine — but there’s real refinement and detail too.

An excellent Burgundy.

Bouchard Père et Fils
Price: $US100
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail