WTN: Dominique Laurent Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux-St.-Jacques

This lavish and decadent premier cru from 1996 hits all the right buttons for this taster albeit in a heavier, more extracted style (similar to Leroy) with plenty of assertive savoury oak to temper a wealth of almost fat strawberry, plum and sappy cherry fruit intermixed with excellent bright acids and melting "silk and lace" tannins. With a lengthy, substantive and authoritative finish I'm happy to award this outstanding effort 92 points with a relatively conservative drinking window of now until 2016. Over the years I somehow always seemed to baulk at the excrutiatingly high prices charged for Laurent's supposedly controversial wares. And "Mr. 200% New Oak" was always going to be a difficult analogy to come to terms with. Recently, I took the rather risky plunge and bought several parcels of Dominique's older offerings at very attractive prices and if the remainder of my "new-found" booty is of a similar standard and condition, I'll be one very happy owner/drinker for the next several years, hopefully, longer.