A Visit to Domaine du Closel: Fifteen Vintages, Three Eras
The 2006 and 2009 step-changes leave us with three eras for the domaine. From Evelyne’s arrival in 2001 through to 2005, the wines are now showing their age, and feel oxidative in some cases, botrytis-tinged in others, on occasion a little discombobulated. The 2005 is perhaps the exception, the wine showing the texture needed to bring all these curious facets together, but looking back over previous encounters with this wine (I have tasted it a few times before) I see my scores are slipping downwards on each new encounter. Those who have a few bottles left (this certainly includes me) might be best advised to drink them sooner rather than later (that scuffling sound is me off to the cellar to excavate them).
Then there is the trio of vintages from 2006 through to 2008, three wines on a very similar footing. While superior to the wines of 2005 and earlier vintages, each seems to fumble with true harmony and integration, toying either with a fresher fruit profile, a greater sense of acid purity and vibrancy, or even a touch of minerally complexity, but none possessing the full package. These wines are admirable, seeming to strive for something greater than they possess, but in each case it slips from the fingertips.
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