2010 - Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes, de la Tour

(13.4% alcohol; 28 h/h; 9/26 harvest): Good medium red. Ineffable, high-pitched nose combines aromas of raspberry, coffee, mint and spices, all lifted by a pungent floral element. A wine of uncanny finesse and verve, at once crunchy and accessible, with its sharply delineated, utterly refined flavors of fruits, spices, flowers and mineral salts complemented by well-judged oak. Wonderfully silky and seamless and balanced from the start, this aristocratic Clos Vougeot is at once broad and light on its feet. Finishes extremely long and vibrant, with perfectly buffered tannins. This wine struck me as quite restrained and austere when I tasted it in late 2012 shortly after bottling but, like so many wines from this great vintage, it's remarkably showy and complex today, even if it has another couple decades of positive development ahead of it.

Has the same remarkable nose as the regular Clos de Vougeot, but wrapped up in far more tannins. Minty and opulent. Almost has something of Châteauneuf about it, such is the power. (RH)