The Lecheneaut 2005 Morey-St.-Denis Clos des Ormes (from only 25-year-old vines – acquired in 2002 – cropped at a seemingly high 40-45 hectoliters per hectare, and not in the 1er Cru-rated portion of this vineyard) smells of black raspberry and cherry, cardamom, nutmeg, and coffee. Strikingly silky and creamy on the palate – an impression complimented by notes of mocha, vanilla, caramel, toasted pecan and richness of fresh black raspberry fruit concentrate – this introduces a marrowy, beef stock character and chalky minerality that balance the sense of sweetly ripe (but not superficially sweet) fruit and spice in its long finish. The Lecheneaut brothers – Vincent and Philippe – were still hoping to get the last of two wines (a Chorey-les-Beaune and one of two lots of village Nuits-St.-Georges, the final blend of which, while promising, could therefore not be fairly assessed) to go through malo at the time of my visit. But other than that, things were looking delicious indeed in this cellar. Alcohol levels came in almost shockingly low given the ripeness of flavors on display (in fact, the brothers chaptalized a bit to extend the fermentations) and most but not all of the wines had the requisite concentration to resist any obvious marking by their 50-100% of new oak. These are forward, early-flattering, often positively flamboyant wines for the vintage. The samples I tasted had been drawn in proper proportion just prior to their having been racked and assembled for bottling (which was imminent).Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083.