A very ripe nose is trimmed in just enough wood to notice while displaying spiced dark berry fruit, earth and a hint of plum scents. There is both good volume and phenolic maturity to the suave and very round medium-bodied flavors that possess good if not special depth on the dusty and ever-so-slightly warm finish. This will almost certainly develop more depth with time in bottle, which is a good thing as this is a bit one-dimensional at present.

Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune, there remains some unresolved oak on the nose of Dominique Lafon’s 2011 Beaune Les Epenottes 1er Cru, the fruit slightly darker than Jean-Marc Boillot’s, but nicely defined with black cherries and cassis scents. The palate is sweet on the entry, quite chewy in the mouth and perhaps a little overdone. This feels quite assertive on the finish that is smooth and creamy in texture. This is a modern Burgundy, but it is undeniably stylish. Give this one or two years in bottle. - Neal Martin