2019 Domaine Bart Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru

Here too there is an agreeably freshness to the notably riper nose that reflects notes of dark berry liqueur, mocha and violets. The rich and solidly concentrated broad-shouldered flavors possess a succulent mid-palate while delivering outstanding length on the sappy bitter cherry-inflected finish. This too will need to develop more complexity but the underlying material is present so that may potentially occur.

Pierre Bart is fortunate to have a full hectare, more than 2.5 acres of vines in this grand cru- but with part of the vineyard over 100 years old, the yields are tiny. They are working on doing their own massal selection from the ancient vines here and I can’t wait to follow the results. This wine sees 40% new oak and 50% whole cluster fermentation, but the oak disappears into the concentrated black fruit of this luscious, compote de cerises style grand cru. The finish is pristinely clean and ultra-long. It is amazing to me that we still have some of this to offer given the price of other Bonnes-Mares, almost all the rest we have, from younger vines as well, are more than twice the price!