2008 Morgon

When I tasted it, Marcel and son Mathieu Lapierre had only just bottled the unfiltered, low-sulfur lot of 2008 Morgon that will be sold in the U.S. (A later bottling with no sulfur will be sold in the U.S. solely from importer Kermit Lynch’s retail shop in Berkeley.) Plum, iris, juniper berry, and herbs in ethereal, distilled mode rise from the glass, and tart plum and cherry refreshingly saturate the palate although the wine’s lack of fat and its firm underlying structure make for a rather spare impression, possibly exacerbated by the recent bottling. As this takes on air, it picks up a whiff of game and its fruit gains in intensity. The finish of plum, cherry, and resinous herbs is practically rapier in its combination of brightness and focus (at very low sulfur, bear in mind!). This should be worth following for at least 4-5 years – though only in a proper cellar – and will probably fill out a bit as well as reveal its carnal dimensions in the process. The portion of wine left behind in cask for later bottling was considerably more expressive and floral (as well as darker and healthier in color) leading me to believe that the bottled wine will gain short-term, too, as it recovers from what little sulfur was applied to it. Imported by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524