Vosne Romanée Malconsorts, Domaine de Montille 2013

(vinified with two-thirds whole clusters and aged in 50% new oak): Bright, dark red. Knockout musky but backward nose combines raspberry, flinty minerality and truffley earth. Very concentrated, mineral-driven wine with a restrained sweetness and complex soil tones to its pungent flavors of red cherry and raspberry. Suave and juicy but a bit youthfully imploded, finishing with serious, noble tannins. Already quite smooth but it would be criminal not to lay this down for at least a few years.

**Note: 67% whole clusters**
This is less obviously floral in character though this element is still quite prominent on the discreet spicy aromas of plum, dark raspberry and sandalwood nuances. There is an equally sleek mouth feel to the broad-shouldered and muscular flavors that possess an exquisite sense of underlying tension and plenty of minerality, all wrapped in a firm, cool, linear and built-to-age finale. I very much like the complexity and the persistence is most impressive.