Scents of smoky black tea and saddle leather mingle with dark berries in the nose of the Audoins’ 2007 Marsannay Clos du Roy, then migrate to a silken, iodine-tinged palate for a sense of dark depth yet also a refreshing brightness of fruit acids, either of which are not especially common this vintage even in much more celebrated and expensive wines. This should prove deliciously versatile over the coming 4-5 years. Cyril Audoin – who joined his mother and father (the domaine’s namesake) in 2000 – is impassioned about demonstrating what he believes is the largely unrecognized potential of Marsannay, and now that I have caught up with his wines, I can confidently state that I know of no one other than Philippe Roty who is more deliciously or profoundly succeeding in that demonstration, which means that given the modest prices asked for them, these wines represent some of Burgundy’s better values. Furthermore, this estate’s nearly 40 acres of largely old vines (or vines grafted over to selections massales) from a smorgasbord of distinctive sites makes possible striking demonstrations of terroir in action (though that very abundance also meant I was not able to taste quite the entire range in the time available to me.) “I’m lucky,” says the younger Audoin, “that my parents set a model for making very classic wines,” which for him means inter alia no fining or filtration, a single racking, and an elevage of 18 months, the last 6 normally in tank, from which I tasted the 2008s early this year. (The Audoin whites, too – on which I’ll report later – are impressive.)Importer: Martine’s Wines. Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-040