Tasted blind, Roumier's 2015 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is quite reticent, unfurling in the glass with a youthfully reserved bouquet of cherries, cassis, dark chocolate, peonies and espresso roast. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and powerful, with a strikingly concentrated and multidimensional core, an ample endowment of rich, satiny tannin and a long, chewy finish. This is a ripe but structural wine that will demand—and reward—considerable patience: it's likely to prove one of the most long-lived red Burgundies of the vintage.

The 2015 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru has the most intense bouquet of the five wines from the same vineyard included within this flight, almost overwhelming the senses with precocious dark cherries, raspberry coulis, bergamot and hints of vanilla pod. The palate is medium-bodied, quite powerful and dense - a more masculine Bonnes-Mares that is almost Musigny-like in style. There is certainly a nobility about this Bonnes-Mares, but it will probably require longer to reach its drinking plateau than others. Just magnificent! Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.

(Roumier picked this vineyard first, blending his grapes from his "white" and "brown" soils for the vinification): Dark ruby-red. Deep, brooding yet expressive scents of boysenberry, blueberry and peony. Conveys a rare combination of thick texture and terrific lift, with its sappy dark berry flavors lifted by spices, minerals and orange zest. Offers superb cut for such a rich wine. Finishes with a big tannic structure but no heaviness or dryness. In fact, I'm tempted to describe this wine as light on its feet. Should enjoy a leisurely evolution in bottle over at least 20 years. Incidentally, as of vintage 2016 Roumier has a new sharecropping arrangement on an additional half a hectare of prime terre blanche soil in Bonnes-Mares, as well a bit of Echézeaux.

Tank sample. 30% new oak. ‘Terres rouges’ is very close to the northern limit of the appellation, with Morey. Taille identical. ‘Terres blanches’ is above the path that dissects the Bonnes Mares. Roumier has six parcels now (1.89 ha) from the far north to the far south. Sample quite reduced. For the moment it’s a little under par and understated. It’s all stonily there but not expressing itself. (JR)