2003 Gabriel Billard Pommard Les Vaumuriens 13.2%
Reticent nose with dark cherry verging uncharacteristically on plum, with some tar and green twigs. Decent, almost chunky mouth weight. Acid could be higher, but what's there at least tastes integrated, i.e. not added (could be wrong; towards the end, as it warmed, some disconnect emerged). My beef is with the fruit. It tastes too ripe, even for 03. Oddly, and most unsatisfyingly, verging on Malbec. Dismaying to find little discernible pinosity. This is not what my tastebuds signed up for. Bummard.
I opened this expecting the issue to be insufficient or phony acidity but it turned out to be excess fruit. Or, rather, excessive ripeness, the kind that obliterates differences and subtleties and makes all varieties converge towards that great variety in the sky (zinfandel?).