2014 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru

Frédéric Magnien was not yet using earthenware jarres in 2014 at either the family domaine or in his négociant cellar (he began in 2015). But as his main objective with these receptacles is to preserve energy and terroir character, he clearly did not need them in 2014, as these wines boast strong minerality and delineation. Magnien describes the 2014s as “easily digestible wines with complexity and elegant tannins. They’re more spicy, while the ‘15s are more fruit-driven.”

Frédéric Magnien was not yet using earthenware jarres in 2014 at either the family domaine or in his négociant cellar (he began in 2015) But as his main objective with these receptacles is to preserve energy and terroir character, he clearly did not need them in 2014, as these wines boast strong minerality and delineation Magnien describes the 2014s as “easily digestible wines with complexity and elegant tannins They’re more spicy, while the ‘15s are more fruit-driven”

Frédéric Magnien, who produced the equivalent of 400,000 bottles of wine under his négociant label in 2014, describes the year as “a vintage of balance: a good vintage for the way we consume wines now. ” He went on: “The 2014s are juicy wines with energizing acidity and rather soft tannins. The skins were thin, and the wines are probably for drinking on the early side. But they’re denser and better than the 2004s and 1994s, which are both very good now. ” The yields in the many vineyards Magnien works with were healthy in 2014: around 40 to 42 hectoliters for the premier crus and 32 to 34 for the grand crus. He told me he started early (on September 14) due to the flies and did a lot of sorting in the vineyards; there was no evidence of acid rot in the wines he showed me in mid-December.

As a general rule, Magnien has been picking earlier since 2012. He’s looking for greater longevity and he noticed that with later harvesting he was losing complexity in the wines. “When you look for full ripeness, all the skins and the tastes are the same,” he explained. “The tannins are all the same, especially with clones. ” Magnien noted that the ripeness of the tannins took longer to arrive in 2013, but that in the end the tannins were more complex. “In 2014, we lost the first ripe grapes to rot and thus lost that element of complexity. There's no question that 2013 is better than 2014 and will last longer, but the 2014s will probably show more terroir character early on."

With earlier harvesting and more sparing use of sulfur, the malolactic fermentations have been taking place earlier as well. The 2014s finished their secondary fermentations by the end of December, and were racked into older barrels in July. Magnien vinified most of his 2014s with between 20% and 50% whole clusters.