2008 Chambertin Clos de Beze

Black cherry, licorice, and resin in the nose of the Groffier 2008 Chambertin Clos De Beze lead to a glossy, subtly oily and bitter-sweet palate presentation, with sweet cherry, brown spices, black pepper, salt, bitter herbs, tangerine oil and lemon oil informing an impressively clinging finish. Look for close to a decade’s worth of interesting evolution here, with even more complexity and, one hopes, greater subtlety emerging. Nicolas Groffier seems not to have been bashful when it comes to extracting flavors from the family’s 2008 grapes (harvested in a mere 5 days, finishing October 1), despite what he emphasizes was the tiny size of both yields and berries. When it comes to elevage, though, he was cautious even at a risk he acknowledges of wines that might show stiffly and reductively for a while after bottling, having racked the young 2008s into tank after just shy of 12 months, which for some lots meant almost immediately after the conclusion of malo. (Bottling sessions were in December and February). Natural alcohols in 2008 were in the upper 12’s (the 2007s were very slightly higher) and typically adjusted by about a quarter of a degree. A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93, also imported by Atherton Imports, Menlo Park, CA; sales@awiwine.com

Deep red-ruby. Precise, sappy, multidimensional nose offers black raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, minerals and violet. The brightest and most sharply delineated of these 2008s, with powerful minerality and firm acid structure keeping the middle palate rather tight in the early going. Best today on the extremely long, brisk, sappy finish, which boasts terrific structure and class. This is essentially from 70-year-old vines, about a quarter of which have been replanted along the way. Paterfamilias Robert Groffier has long been responsible for doing the vineyard work here.

Black cherry, licorice, and resin in the nose of the Groffier 2008 Chambertin Clos De Beze lead to a glossy, subtly oily and bitter-sweet palate presentation, with sweet cherry, brown spices, black pepper, salt, bitter herbs, tangerine oil and lemon oil informing an impressively clinging finish. Look for close to a decade’s worth of interesting evolution here, with even more complexity and, one hopes, greater subtlety emerging. ||Nicolas Groffier seems not to have been bashful when it comes to extracting flavors from the family’s 2008 grapes (harvested in a mere 5 days, finishing October 1), despite what he emphasizes was the tiny size of both yields and berries. When it comes to elevage, though, he was cautious even at a risk he acknowledges of wines that might show stiffly and reductively for a while after bottling, having racked the young 2008s into tank after just shy of 12 months, which for some lots meant almost immediately after the conclusion of malo. (Bottling sessions were in December and February). Natural alcohols in 2008 were in the upper 12’s (the 2007s were very slightly higher) and typically adjusted by about a quarter of a degree.||A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93, also imported by Atherton Imports, Menlo Park, CA; sales@awiwine.com Wine Advocate.June, 2010