Bouchard Père & Fils : Beaune 1er cru "Clos de La Mousse" Domaine Monopole 2006

From their monopole south of Teurons, Bouchard's 2006 Beaune Clos de la Mousse displays herbal, bitter-sweet floral, and fungal aromas; comes to the palate with considerable subtlety and diversity of flavor as well as textural refinement; and offers a persistent, complex sense of interplay between chalky, herbal, floral, black fruit, fungal, and forest floor elements. I suspect this will be well worth following for half a dozen years. Director Philippe Prost emphasized the importance of flexible and surgical picking (with a crew numbering upwards of 300) and getting his crop to Bouchard's battery of presses within two hours via a fleet of mini-vans. He insists that relatively little triage was necessary on the domaine vineyards (as opposed to those under contract) and the estate wines are certainly predictably stronger as a group. (I have generally mentioned in the notes that follow which wines are from Bouchard's domaine and which from contract fruit, but have explicitly noted this as part of a wine's description only if there are two versions of the same appellation within the present portfolio.) The fruit was crushed very gently and the wines racked only once – at 10-14 months, later than usual – explains Prost, in order to guard against exposed or drying tannins, a policy which my tastings suggest was generally successful. Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6767

Medium-bodied, with cherry and earth notes supported by burly tannins. Firm on the finish. Drink sooner rather than later. Drink now through 2012. 130 cases imported.

Another of those wines with rather a fungal stink? Sweet fruit and not much real character. Very bitter finish. (JR)

Medium red with a pale rim. Began a bit mute on the nose, but more precise red fruit, floral and spice aromas emerged with aeration. Juicy and nicely delineated, offering sweet, suave fruit and spice flavors and finishing with a fine dusting of tannins and very good length.

Melt-in-the-mouth texture, a very lovely nose perfectly combining red fruit and a few spicy notes, gourmand, very “Beaune” in style, and beneath its charm lies real structure that promises graceful aging.