MOREY SAINT DENIS

Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2014 tasting, the 2014 Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Aux Charmes veered more toward red than black fruit on the nose, although it did not display the complexity of either La Riotte from Taupenot-Merme or Perrot-Minot tasted in the same flight. That said, I did notice some improvement in the glass, manifesting more terroir expression and vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit, black tea and a touch of dried herbs. It fans out gently on the finish, maintaining the fruit concentration with a subtle wild mint/fennel note lingering on the aftertaste. This is a "grower"—returning time and again, I like Virgil Lignier's wine more and more. Tasted September 2017. Drinking range: 2020 - 2038 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Nov 2017)

Moderately saturated medium red. Subdued, deep aromas of raspberry, cherry, mocha and underbrush. In a rather tender style, especially compared to the Morey village wine, offering lovely sweetness and concentration but also good definition and lift, not to mention inner-mouth floral perfume. Ripe acidity and substantial tongue-dusting tannins gives this wine a solid structural underpinning. Drinking range: 2021 - 2030 Rating: 91 Stephen Tanzer, www.vinousmedia.com (Mar 2017)

The 2014 Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Aux Charmes has a flamboyant nose with red cherries, wild strawberry and marmalade, the 40% whole cluster fruit embedded with the fruit. The palate is effervescent on the entry with crisp acidity, edgy mineralité with that tongue tingling as if you had licked a limestone rock (try it!). This is excellent. Drinking range: 2018 - 2030 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 2015)