Jean-Yves Peron, Pas l'Ours Mondeuse Noir, VdF

Funky as **** with incredibly unbalanced structure.

This was fabulous, at first, with bright blue/black fruit and floral high notes that reminded me of a young N. Rhone Syrah, and thick, meaty tannins. Certainly an auspicious start. But the following night, the second half of the bottle, sealed in a .375 over night, was fetid with TCA which must have been dormant but emerged in the fridge over night. 100% Mondeuse from old vines and low yields and all that.

Interesting wine. I was hoping for something fuller than this to match a beef stew. Cherry cough syrup, herbs and sous bois, a little vegetable garden. Medium body, high acidity, this wine becomes more coherent with time in the glass. My wife did not like it. I was treating it more like the parent of an unusual child. It might improve with a few years in the bottle, but at this point it is more interesting than pleasurable. Addendum - …