Morey-Saint-Denis "En la rue de Vergy" 2003, Bruno Clair

Tasted with my ace-chef neighbour Alex. Thick dark cherry colour, semi-opaque, long-lived legs. Aromas immediately present, warm and serving up brambles and a gentle date hint. They evolve to very ripe black cherries, smoky oak, and a soupcon of braised beef. The bouquet is fuzzy rather than delineated. On the palate the wine offers medium-to-low acidity, black cherries, soft oak tannins and weight on the mid-palate. Its not long and lacks dimensions such as acidity, freshness, and tannins. Made me think of a lost black labrador wandering around in the dark. The vintage conquered the wine-maker and this wine has nothing more to offer. Drink up or break into any cases of 2003 you haven't tasted.

Domaine Bruno Clair was founded in 1979 and the Morey "En la rue de Vergy" was one of the original vineyards that Bruno produced from. This is now a large domaine of over 23 hectares mostly because Bruno makes wine from the vineyards owned by other members of the family following the dissolution of the Clair-Dau estate in 1985.