90

Neal Martin

Vinous

The 2019 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is a vintage that I never tasted out of barrel due to axing visits during the pandemic. It has a richer and more opulent bouquet compared to its peers—wild strawberry and blueberry, iodine and violet petals. There is plenty of exuberance here, but there is also a sense of control, and the new oak, which seems higher than its peers, is neatly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannins, behind which lies a sturdy and sinewy Bonnes-Mares. Assertive and alcoholic on the finish, I feel some heat at the back of the throat. This is a bit of a bruiser, but maybe that bruiser will be tamed with extended bottle age? Time will tell. Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting. 09/2023

94-96

Jasper Morris

Inside Burgundy

Black centre with a purple rim. The Bonnes Mares offers a denser, darker and more sombre nose coming after the explosive Amoureuses. Altogether a firmer framework, then a hugely intense coulis of blackcurrant, nothing cooked and there is good acidity behind. Myrtilles adds François. Intense more than magisterial. Not quite so persistent as the Amoureuses. Tasted Nov 2020.