A village-level wine whose name apparently has something to do with the oyster shells found in and around its source vineyards.Piercing, complex and focused aroma profile comprising elements of cherry/plum, red fruits and a lovely stalky/sappiness. It’s just delightful to smell this wine and, although it has remained relatively static over the last couple of hours, its inherent complexity carries it well, and I’m continuing to enjoy each sniff very much. There’s some underlying oak that plays a well judged supporting role.Straight from the bottle, this wine tasted a little thin and bright on the palate, but it did not take long (thirty minutes at most) for the fruit to fill in. Entry is rich and flavoursome, introducing not only ripe fruit but the two key pleasures of this wine: structure and texture. No doubt there are gorgeous, ripe fruits and what appears to be whole bunch complexity here, but with each sip I keep coming back to the clearly defined acid framework and the powdery phenolics (including fine, ripe tannins) that create significant textural interest on the tongue. For all the fruit ripeness, it’s only a medium bodied wine, yet full of intensity and flavour. The after palate shows good line, but there’s a sudden drop as the finish kicks in, somewhat mitigated by the fact that this slightly subdued finish possesses more than satisfactory length.This is my kind of wine, and is drinking better now than some of the other 2005 Burgundies I’ve tasted recently. Elegant and alluring. I’d like to see it with a couple of years on it, though, primarily to experience the wine’s texture as it softens.Domaine Trapet Père et FilsPrice: $A66Closure: CorkDate tasted: February 2008
Tasting this again tonight. This bottle has low level mercaptan/sulfur aromas that, to me, are a bit distracting. Others may write it off as “rustic.”