A village wine from the northerly Fixin appellation of Burgundy. Fixin reds are usually described as sauvage, feral, rustic, and so on, but the producer here is based in Vosne-Romaneé, an appellation typically known for its silky, sophisticated style. I'm curious to observe what this combination means in the bottle.
Jean Tardy & Fils
Price: $A52
Closure: Cork
Slightly dodgy cork, wet all the way up one side. A powerful hit of cough syrup at first, coming across as attractively stalky (though I've no idea if whole bunches were used). Some caramel-coated red fruit too, high toned and delicate. There's nothing overtly rustic about the aroma profile here, but there are undercurrents of funk that come across as domesticated in the context of the overall style. Pleasant, funky, restrained.
This is light to medium bodied in the mouth with a flavour profile that is in line with the medicinal and sweetly fruited aspects of the nose. Structurally, there's plenty of acid and chalky tannin, providing clean shape to the line. Surprisingly good intensity, though not especially complex. Again, the flavours are quite funky but the whole is restrained, and I enjoy this tension, although part of me wishes it would just cut loose a bit and be more vulgar. Quite an impressive, lifted finish that goes on for some time.
There wasn't a lot of evolution through the evening, and the wine remained consistent in weight and complexity. Not sure about the value in absolute terms, but I'm enjoying this wine on its own terms, especially for its left-of-centre flavour profile.
Jean Tardy & Fils
Price: $A52
Closure: Cork
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