Clos de la Roche 2015

Medium red. Aromas of strawberry, raspberry, flowers and spices. Juicy on entry, then suave and light on its feet in the middle, with dense red berry flavors accented by white pepper, mint and flowers. This is a live wire in the mouth but it's also seamless and refined. The very subtle, slowly mounting finish displays a touch of medicinal bitterness that stimulates the salivary glands. Arlaud noted that his grand cru vineyards yielded 30 to 32 hectoliters per hectare in 2015, which he described as good for a dry year and better balanced as a result. The berries were small in 2015 but not nearly as tiny as those in 2003, when the same vineyards produced barely 20 hectoliters per hectare.

Score: 93 - 95

Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com 01 January 2017