2008 Chambolle Musigny Les Charmes

The 2008 Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes boasts striking inner perfume and lovely palate presence. It is another open, expressive wine with wonderful textural elegance and fabulous balance. The finish is long and inviting, even if the Charmes is missing just a touch of freshness. This was the last parcel Barthod harvested in 2008. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2028. There is no better place to learn about the subtleties of Chambolle than in the cellars of Ghislaine Barthod. With one Bourgogne and nine Chambolles, including eight 1er Crus, Barthod’s wines run the gamut from the delicate to the virile, all within the confines of this tiny village. Every wine I tasted during my recent visit was impeccable. I can’t recommend the wines of this small, family-run domaine highly enough. Barthod was the first grower to pick in Chambolle. She started on September 8 with the goal of trying to maintain as much freshness as possible. The wines came in with around 13% natural alcohol. The fruit was 100% destemmed. I also tasted a handful of 2008s, a vintage defined by striking aromatics and plenty of energy. The fruit was harvested much later than in 2009, beginning on September 26 and finishing on October 4. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

Medium red. Raspberry and crushed stone on the nose, lifted by wild herbs and pepper; began quite reserved but grew purer and more expressive with aeration. Silky-sweet red cherry and raspberry flavors boast lovely fullness for the vintage, with menthol and herbal notes providing lift. A consistent wine from start to suavely tannic finish, but this seems to be shutting down in bottle. Ghislaine Barthod notes that this is typical for this cuvee, which normally is easy to taste from the barrel.

(just one of five barrels are new) Good deep red. Compelling aromas of sappy cherry and framboise, minerals, licorice and menthol. Densely packed, perfumed and sweet in the mouth, with explosive red fruit and mineral flavors saturating the entire palate. This has almost painful intensity of flavor, outstanding persistence and a serious spine for aging. Has all the elements to make a great bottle.