2015 Benjamin Leroux, Vosne-Romanee, Au-dessus des Malconsorts

The 2015 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Malconsorts-Dessus, which was entirely de-stemmed, has a bright, energetic, refined bouquet with redcurrant, wild strawberry, and cold wet limestone scents that impart penetration and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with dense, ripe red berry fruit, still quite a bit of oak to be subsumed, but there is more than enough fruit here to soak that up. It fans out gloriously on the finish, a wine that is determined to make a good impression. Benjamin Leroux seemed quietly satisfied with this and he has every right to be. Shame that there is just one barrel produced in 2015.

(a new wine for Leroux, from vines above Malconsorts and alongside Gaudichots; this was raised in a once-used barrel but had been racked three weeks before my visit): Bright, dark red. Reticent aromas of dark raspberry, licorice and menthol, plus a whiff of smoky calcaire . Wonderfully sweet, spicy, ripe wine with a thickness of texture and density that come from the high altitude of the vines. But still quite closed and not yet revealing its underlying fruit. Finishes with very fine-grained, building tannins. Incidentally, Leroux is no longer offering Les Suchots as he was not happy with the grower's work in the vines.