Bonnes Mares, Domaine Robert Groffier 2008

Strong reduction makes the nose impossible to evaluate but the full-bodied flavors are impressively powerful yet they are unusually accessible for a young Bonnes Mares with fine intensity, persistence and a balanced finish. This is not an especially big wine by the typical standards of the appellation but the focus and detail are excellent.

Bright medium red. Strawberry, licorice and pepper on the nose. Supple and densely packed, with complex, savory flavors of dark berries, game and roasted herbs along with a saline element. Quite suave in texture; less citrussy than the Amoureuses and more obviously soil-driven. A fruity, rather polite style of Bonnes-Mares but boasts enticing inner-mouth perfume. This still youthfully closed wine finishes with sneaky rising length.