1999 Chambertin
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Superb deep red color, easily the darkest wine to this point! Deep, dark, classic Chambertin aromas of black cherry, dark raspberry, smoky minerals, menthol and spices; I would have guessed that this was a five-year-old wine from the nose. Large-scaled, rich and powerful; in a distinctly masculine style, conveying a strong impression of medicinal reserve to its very pure flavors of black fruits, clove, licorice and savory crushed-rock minerality. I love the balance of sweet and dry elements on display here. The inexorable finish saturates the entire palate and leaves the taste buds humming, with the combination of huge but well-distributed tannins and sound acidity contributing to the impression of grip. This may be a 50-year wine. (13.3% natural alcohol; 42 h/h; the vintage was "ripe, generous and complex," according to Trapet)
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Dark, youthful red. Classic, somewhat sauvage aromas of black raspberry, game and roast coffee, plus a hint of menthol. Utterly silky but energetic wine with superb concentration for this high-yielding vintage. Flavors of plum, dark berries, spices and menthol convey lovely subtle intensity and terrific definition. Really vibrates on the long, rising finish, with ripe tannins saturating the entire mouth. This wine still has a long life ahead of it; in fact, I'd hold it for a couple more years. Jean-Louis Trapet told me that 1999 was his tenth vintage and that at the time he was vinifying "with only a tiny bit of whole clusters." And he noted that it took until the following harvest for this wine to finish its malolactic fermentation.
Ruby-red. Laid-back, somewhat reduced nose of black fruits, minerals, espresso and violet. Rather gently styled Chambertin, in the style of the year, with lovely sweetness and suave texture. Complicating notes of gunflint, smoke and minerals. Really spreads over the palate. Finishes with nobler, very suave tannins and excellent subtle persistence.