2014 Lucien Le Moine, Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru

Deep red. A note of musky reduction dissipated to reveal exuberant scents of clementine, Asian spices, smoked meat and iron; conveys a strong orange skin character. Pungent and energetic, offering sexy flavors of red plum, redcurrant, smoke and earth. Still a bit tricky to taste owing to the bound-up CO2 (this wine went through a very slow, long alcoholic fermentation), but the supple finish shows fine-grained tannins and superb lift.

The 2014 Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru has a withdrawn bouquet at first, only gradually unfolding with light cranberry leaf, bay leaf and strawberry scents, a cold stone note emerging later. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, quite focused and poised, although I would like to see more weight and body develop on the finish. It seems to have stage fright compared to the Clos de la Roche.