Jean-Max Roger, Vieilles Vignes 2016 – Sancerre

The wine has a ruby color of medium intensity, with slight garnet reflections. The nose offers concentration, a ripe fruitiness, even with a touch of roast and maceration. It expresses aromas of crushed black plum (or even prunes), very ripe morello cherry (or even griottines), crushed wild strawberry, crushed strawberry and raspberry jam, dried blackcurrant, as well as plum cream and roasted black fig. There is also some spiciness (liquorice, nutmeg, clove, white pepper), sappy hint (pine needles, pine sap) and tertiary notes (faded rose, tobacco, wet leaves), associated with a gourmet hint of prunes in chocolate. The palate is juicy, straight, with a good bitterness and a tight and grippy touch of tannins. It expresses notes of morello cherry, blackcurrant, bird cherry, black plum (with a touch of prunes) and blackberry, combined with touches of sweet spices (liquorice, white pepper, nutmeg, clove), herbs (blackcurrant leaf), pine needles, faded rose, tobacco and wet leaves. The finish is savory and persistent – it expresses a savoury herbaceous nuance (dried thyme, dried mint), tangy notes of cocoa nibs and the sharp acidity of cranberries. Beautiful tannic structure, well-built and solid, balance between the roasted and juicy nose and a tangy mouth.