2005 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru

In contrast to his practice in 2004, Frederic Magnien did a relatively long vatting in 2005, including a cold soak lasting seven to ten days and a couple days of post-fermentation maceration. Fred uses stainless steel tanks, while the wines of the family domain (Michel Magnien) are made in concrete vats, which take longer to warm up and cool down. Magnien told me he was not among the earlier pickers in 2005, as he preferred to wait for more phenolic maturity. The pHs were healthy, the yeasts worked well and he was happy with the results of long, steady fermentations. Virtually all the 2005s I tasted had been racked, and none of them included any press wine. Magnien has introduced a couple of premier cru "blends"-sizable cuvees that he believes can be more complete than their individual components. "This saved me from having to select many tiny different lots," he explained. "In the past I tried to explain all the different terroirs to my clients, but nobody cared." Due to space constraints I have omitted notes on Magnien's village wines; the best of them-the Gevrey-Chambertin Les Seuvrees, the Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes and the Morey-Saint-Denis Clos Sorbes-rated scores in the 87-90 range. (A Peter Vezan selection, imported by North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; and Dionysos Imports, Lorton, VA)