Wine Advisor
Comte Georges de Vogue, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2015
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2015 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has a noticeably refulgent, deeper color than its peers (especially compared to the Bonnes-Mares from Domaine de la Vougeraie). It offers high-toned dark cherry and cassis fruit on the nose, along with developing hints of violet and a veneer of new oak that has yet to be subsumed. The palate is sweet and very fruit-driven on the entry, with grippy tannin, but overall, it is missing the charm and sophistication of the four other Bonnes-Mares tasted blind. It is trying too hard to impress. I was more positive when I tasted this from barrel, and at the moment, I prefer the Les Amoureuses. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright ruby-red. Classic aromas of blueberry, boysenberry, menthol and licorice complicated by soil and spice notes and a sexy carnal quality. Then densely packed but very tightly wound and juicy, showing distinctly darker fruit flavors than the Premier Cru but also terrific energy and balance. Finishes vibrant and long, with firm but ripe tannins, a suggestion of bitter chocolate, and a crunchy quality to its blueberry and black cherry flavors. As rich as this wine is, it's not thick or overripe.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Full ruby-red. Intense aromas of blueberry liqueur and chocolate mint; this smells thick and deep in a way that reminded me of the estate's 1990 version at the same stage. Densely packed and very ripe, with a chocolatey quality leavened by strong acidity and complex menthol and herb terroir nuances. Conveys a strong impression of sucrosité without loss of freshness. The big, tongue-coating tannins arrive late, allowing the blueberry and blackberry fruit to mount on the aftertaste.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2015 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru came across subtly on the nose compared to the les Amoureuses and required more patience when tasted from barrel. It is not a flamboyant or ostentatious Bonnes-Mares, prioritizing precision and classicism, not to imply that it shortchanges you on the intensity ones expects from this vineyard. The palate is fresh from the start: a wonderful structure and especially for Bonnes-Mares, outstanding mineralité in situ and very tensile with so much energy from the blueberry and blackberry fruit that you can feel this wine two minutes later. Bridled with impressive grip and structure, this is a bona fide grand vin.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2015 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru from Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé is an excellent example, opening in the glass with a youthful bouquet of blackberry, wild blueberries, Griotte cherry, lilac, peony and some very incipient notes of forest floor. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and multidimensional, with bright acids, a deep core and a powerful chassis of fine-grained tannins. This Bonnes Mares' structural authority will require a decade or more to mellow, but at maturity this should rank as one of the greatest renditions from de Vogüé in recent years.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Tasted blind, the 2015 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru reprised its excellent showing in February, offering up a rich and distinctive bouquet of cherries, peony, dark chocolate, grilled squab and cinnamon. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, rich and dramatic, with a layered mid-palate, juicy acids and considerable underlying substance and concentration. The de Vogüé Bonnes Mares can be quite a stern, firm wine in its youth but this bottle of the 2015 was almost lavish.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
The 2015 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has a noticeably refulgent, deeper color than its peers (especially compared to the Bonnes-Mares from Domaine de la Vougeraie). It offers high-toned dark cherry and cassis fruit on the nose, along with developing hints of violet and a veneer of new oak that has yet to be subsumed. The palate is sweet and very fruit-driven on the entry, with grippy tannin, but overall, it is missing the charm and sophistication of the four other Bonnes-Mares tasted blind. It is trying too hard to impress. I was more positive when I tasted this from barrel, and at the moment, I prefer the Les Amoureuses. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.
About the Producer
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue is one of the most important estates in the Chambello-Musigny appellation, thanks to its stake in important vineyards. The Comte de Vogue is, as the English writer Charles Dickens once said, "as historic and admirable as a great mountain". The vineyard of the Comte de Vugo covers approximately 12.5 hectares, of which about 7 hectares are located in the Mussini vineyard (70% of the entire top vineyard) and about 2.5 hectares in the nearby Bernemar region. The grapes are all hand-harvested and the vast majority are destemmed (although in 1990 100% of the stems were retained). The wines are first fermented in vats, then aged for 18 months in small oak barrels (40% to 45% renewed), clarified with egg whites and lightly filtered before bottling. The wines are extremely intense and full-bodied, which is not surprising given the extremely low yields and the limestone soils of the Mussini vineyards. The wines of the Comtes de Vugo are not meant to be tasted young, and in outstanding vintages these very long-lived wines usually require 10 to 15 years of ageing. However, it is worth noting that the 2002 vintage of Musigny Old Vine is of particularly high quality. It has intense aromas of red cherry, spice and candied raspberry aromas, with a hint of oak. This noble, full-bodied, refined wine has fragrant floral flavours with fruity notes of red and black fruits. A more feminine wine than the bold, chewy, highly robust 1990 vintage, this is a work of art with delicate tannins.
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