This was so good I haven’t had a glass of wine since. Anything else would just be a major letdown after this gem. There’s a beautiful earthiness/sous bois I find in just about every wine from this domaine, from the Village MSD on up the ranks. I know it sounds ridiculous but it’s an elegant, perfumed scent of earth. It’s here in spades in the bouquet and a case of the aromatics providing as much pleasure as drinking the stuff.
The wine was splash decanted and definitely benefited from the scant air it received before it was hungrily gulped down. The fruit grew more layered with subsequent pours and took on a creamy texture. I think this would show best now with about an hour decant judging by this bottle.
The finish is haunting and the tannins are close to being integrated, benchmark CdlR for me.