Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru 2004, Comte Armand

The Comte Armand domaine is also known as Domaine des Epeneaux which is the Pommard monopole owned by the family. The domaine has a total of 7.5 hectares in Pommard, Volnay and Auxey. I have tasted three vintages of the Clos des Epeneaux and found them tremendously elegant and worthy of long aging. Auxey is typically a lighter wine and 2004 a light-bodied vintage. Somehow the domaine has crafted a wine which is crammed with refreshing berry fruit and has the concentration to evolve until 2015. This Auxey is an elegant wine -- think the younger, slimmer and more pretty daughter at the Viennese ball -- with a joie de vivre. Enticing now but best left until at least 2010 to enjoy more sophisticated delights.