Medium-plus cherry-red. A wild mix of brambly black fruit and subtle oak toast on the nose, gradually becoming higher toned with a hazelnut-coffee edge. The entry is smooth, then the wine explodes on your palate before slowly shrinking into the very long finish. Lithe and slender in complexion despite the evident concentration. Plenty of fireworks here – a very, very impressive wine.
Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
2003 Bouchard Père et Fils Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
Aromatics that are wide and deep, a little blurred vs the previous Nuits, but there’s certainly more going on. Slowly a note of violet comes to the fore, focus improving all the time. Like the Corton, a more classically proportioned palate. Really good balance between the structure and fruit. Very, very good.
Aromatics that are wide and deep, a little blurred vs the previous Nuits, but there’s certainly more going on. Slowly a note of violet comes to the fore, focus improving all the time. Like the Corton, a more classically proportioned palate. Really good balance between the structure and fruit. Very, very good.
1999 Girardin Vincent Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
Deep colour. There’s deeply toasty and creamy black fruit on the nose. Primary, painfully intense fruit with excellent acidity and buried tannins. Excellent but very hard to drink right now – I’d guess that you need another 7 or 8 years before this wine starts to bloom – but bloom it will. Very impressive wine.
1999 Faiveley Joseph Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
Nightmare – bottle 1 – tainted as tainted can be, a big shame. Bottle 2 – medium-plus ruby red, still cherry at the rim. The nose starts in an almost syrah way, slowly unknitting to give a little woodspice then really dense black cherry that slowly becomes more red and shows a little coffee. There’s still a little grain from the wood, but this is one full-on wine with incredible length – you really can taste it minutes later. The palate has fine tannins, good acidity and super-intense fruit, shaded towards black. This is a wine that’s a big black shadow of its future self and despite commendable depth doesn’t yet shout ‘I’m a great wine’, but wait another 10 years and things might be starting to get very interesting.
2001 Rousseau Armand Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
2001 Esmonin Frédéric Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
1999 Bouchard Père et Fils Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
Not a domaine owned vineyard, but the same supplier of grapes used for many years. Medium colour again. The nose is deep with some barrel toast evident, but not giving much more away. The palate is very round and tannic, but the tannins are finely grained. Lovely depth of concentrated fruit. Actually a very forward and drinkable wine here. Very lovely.
1988 Damoy Pierre Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze
Very mature medium/deep brick colour. Intense nose has toasty oak turned sweet with age and is very mocha with a background of soil, develops a very meaty overtone after a couple of hours. Still some higher fruit tones redolent of stewing prunes. The palate is broad and silky, still with lingering acidity, good smooth tannin and chocolatey notes. Initially in the mouth this wine seems a bit simple and is certainly not much more than medium length, palate broadens further with time, but no extra length. Too young ? Certainly it is a fine wine today and has enough structure for a few more years, I’m not sure there will be a benefit in waiting though. Just in case, I have another and will try it when it’s 20 vs Jadot’s & Bouchard’s 1998 version !