| Score: |
94 JG.
"Since I wrote up my vertical report on the Lafarge family’s beautiful Clos des Chênes back in January of 2008, I have seen what was a very promising, but also quite shut down ’96 blossom into an absolutely stunning example of the vintage. The wine is not quite ready for primetime drinking, but it is coming on so strong that it is already getting hard not to start opening bottles. The superb bouquet offers up a wonderfully complex mélange of plums, black cherries, a touch of blood orange, notes of spit-roasted gamebirds, a beautiful base of soil, lovely spice tones, incipient notes of black truffle and a touch of wood. On the palate this full-bodied and marvelously complex wine is really starting to sing, as its structural elements have now peeled back and the wine is delivering layers of pure fruit, great transparency and superb length and grip on the modestly tannic and very tangy finish. The core is sweet and sappy, the signature of terroir is exceptional, and with a bit of decanting, the wine is an absolute joy to drink today. I would still try to keep it tucked away for another few years to allow it to fully blossom, but there is no doubt that this is a great example of the vintage." View From the Cellar, Sep/Oct 2011, Issue #35 |