Domaine Lucien Muzard Pommard Les Cras 2023 is a deep, fruit-driven Pinot Noir from Pommard in Burgundy, built on dark cherry and spice with the sinew that Pommard is known for. The 2023 vintage brings ripe, generous fruit, so the wine is approachable young without giving up its firm frame.

Aromas open on morello cherry, blueberry and damp earth, with black pepper and a violet lift behind them. Air brings out something savoury — dried herbs, a touch of iron — and the fruit deepens rather than sweetens in the glass.

The palate is concentrated and silky at once, drawn from very old vines on stony ground, with fine-grained tannins that grip lightly at the edges. Twelve months in barrel, 15% of it new, sits underneath rather than over the fruit, and the finish is long, mineral and gently drying.

Pour it with roast duck, slow-cooked beef cheek, mushroom risotto or a plate of soft washed-rind cheese. Lamb rubbed with thyme and garlic works especially well, as does anything with a bit of caramelised roasting-pan flavour to meet the wine's savoury side.

Drink Domaine Lucien Muzard Pommard Les Cras 2023 now with an hour in the decanter, or cellar it through to roughly 2029 while the tannins soften and the earthy, spiced characters take the lead.