Wine Reviews

Pure and elegant, the 2021 Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru (Domaine Gagey) opens in the glass with aromas of sweet red berries, cherries, rose petals, spices and raw cocoa. Full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with lively acids, powdery tannins and a long, saline finish, it has turned out beautifully.

The 2021 Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru has a pastille-like purity on the nose with sensual red cherries, redcurrant and cranberry aromas all deftly entwined with the new oak. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannins. It’s structured and bold, though it lacks the finesse that is implied by the bouquet. Solid, but a bit unwieldy at the moment.

A plethora of spice nuances are present on the emphatically floral-suffused nose of red raspberry, earth and a whiff of exotic tea, all of which is trimmed in wood and menthol nuances. The plump, round and highly seductive flavors possess both good mid-palate density and a very sophisticated mouthfeel that continues onto the relatively powerful and highly persistent finale. The intrinsic class of a fine CSD is very much present and this is seriously impressive.

A very timid nose requires aggressive swirl to slowly coax the spicy and ripe liqueur-like aromas of red currant and exotic tea to reveal themselves. There is fine volume to the supple, round and highly seductive flavors that culminate in a firm, dusty, compact and quite serious finale.

The 2018 Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru (Domaine Gagey) is fulfilling all the promise it showed in barrel, unwinding in the glass with aromas of pomegranate, red berries, rose petals, sweet soil tones and warm spices. Full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with a vibrant core of fruit framed by fine, youthfully chalky tannins.