Arnoux Lachaux Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2012

Arnoux Lachaux Clos Vougeot Grand Cru 2012Relatively heavy reduction renders the nose unreadable. There is excellent richness, size, weight and power to the medium weight plus flavors that brim with mouth coating dry extract that buffers well the firm tannic spine on the strikingly long finish. This is austere but not really rustic and should amply reward mid to long term cellaring.

It is rich and pure

were just bottled prior to my visit

An even more elegant nose of spicy and floral red and black pinot fruit is nuanced by subtle traces of sandalwood

Araujo’s 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard is a picture perfect example of the year

The round and seductively textured medium weight flavors exude a fine bead of minerality on the appealingly detailed

Dense ruby/purple in color

but with no sense of heaviness

pure and airy red berry fruit scents along with a profusion of floral elements that are also trimmed in a discreet application of wood

especially within the context of the vintage

The saturated purple/black color is followed by aromas of sweet vanillin intermixed with riveting scents of black currants

spice and a whiff of lavender

precise and driving medium-bodied flavors that culminate in a moderately austere and gorgeously sustained finale