The 2015 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has another very pure, elegant bouquet, firmly in red rather than black fruit territory and quite lush and sensual - one of the most seductive you will find this year. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin and perfectly pitched acidity; it feels supple at first, though the second half has a more chalky texture and the red fruit merges with more black fruit. Gaining structure toward the oaky finish, it exerts firm grip and sports stupendous length. Wonderful. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.

Bright medium red. Deep, complex, soil-driven aromas of raspberry, smoke, underbrush and spices, not a blueberry style of Bonnes-Mares. Juicy on entry, then penetrating, powerful and structured, conveying serious middle-palate richness to its flavors of currant, red fruits, spics and earth. Finishes with huge tannic mass but a bit less refinement than the Clos de Bèze. Bruno Clair finds this wine hard today; it certainly will require patience.

More smoky and savoury on the nose than the Clos de Bèze. A little herbal and stemmy. Firm and chewy but with the fruit to carry the firm structure. Needs a lot of time. So expensive. (JH)