2005 - Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru, Dujac

Bright red-ruby. Musky, brooding aromas of dark fruits, mocha, spices and minerals; appears to be shutting down on the nose. Dense, large-scaled and packed with fruit and extract. The liqueur-like black raspberry, underbrush and licorice root flavors expand on the back half and go on and on on the aftertaste. Vinified entirely with whole clusters, this wine shows an almost painful intensity today and should really be forgotten for at least a decade. A great young example of this grand cru.

Intensely smoky, and with concentrated black cherry, herb, and brown spice aromas, the Dujac 2005 Clos St.-Denis comes onto the palate quite firm, palpably dense, its structural rectitude, fruit pit notes, stony mineral shadings, and abundant fine tannins all somewhat alleviated by ample glycerin and complemented by the sheer sappy juiciness of its ripe black fruits. This is positively fetal when compared with the Clos de la Roche, but exhibits no less remarkable sheer length. Certainly we’re looking at another wine with more than a decade’s developmental potential. The already rich array of crus at Domaine Dujac has recently been augmented on two fronts. The purchase (along with de Montille) of the Societe Civile du Clos de Thorey (Thomas-Moillard) has brought them a raft of choice parcels including three new grand cru holdings (for a staggering total of eight). Meanwhile, they have expanded their negociant arm (with control over harvest and green harvest a prerequisite) to supplement in particular their volumes of village-level wine. (Those wines – labeled “Dujac Fils & Pere” – are signified in the above listing with “FP”. In fact, due to a legal technicality, the 2005 vintage wines from the properties newly acquired by the domaine – but not subsequent vintages – will also read “Fils & Pere” rather than “Domaine”.) Even with California-trained oenologist Diana Seysses (nee Snowden) joining her husband Jeremy and in-laws Jacques and Alec, and with a new winery (though at the old address) I wonder at how they are able to keep up with the magnitude of their responsibilities. Yet despite so many parcels and vines new to them this year, the results are consistently outstanding and at times astounding. Much of the vinification – increasingly as one goes up the hierarchy of crus – was of whole clusters. Malos finished (finally) by November and the wines were bottle in December and January. Importer: The Sorting Table, Napa, CA; tel.(415) 491 4724

Bright crimson. Very pure and powerful. So clean and brisk with great integrity. Complex already with hints of ripe, slightly bitter zesty fruit – super-ripe plums? oranges? – and an edge of mocha. Racy and the most intriguing edge of playfulness. Not pompous at all. Wonderful wine. (JR)