IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS

Bright light yellow. Aromas of peach, soft citrus fruits and sweet nuts with an obvious overlay of spicy, vanillin oak. Very rich, sweet, layered wine with terrific opulence, depth and spicy lift to its ripe stone fruit flavors. Sweeter and more tactile than the Combettes but with good fresh acidity for the vintage.

This velvety, fine-grained wine shows the ripeness of south-facing vines. But it's also quite smooth and not at all phenolic, with the high alcohol of the vintage nicely buffered by strong extract. There's a finishing citrus edge here but it won't get in the way of enjoying this otherwise seamless wine over the next six or seven years for its ripe fruit.