2010 Chambertin
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Tasting notes
The 2010 Chambertin is a huge, towering wine bursting with blackberries, blueberries, cassis and violets, all of which come together beautifully in a large-scaled, sumptuous style that is highly unusual. Suave tannins frame the fruit on the explosive finish. There is no shortage of personality here. Boillot waited until October 7 to harvest this fruit, very late even by the standards of the year.
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Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2010 Chambertin is a huge, towering wine bursting with blackberries, blueberries, cassis and violets, all of which come together beautifully in a large-scaled, sumptuous style that is highly unusual. Suave tannins frame the fruit on the explosive finish. There is no shortage of personality here. Boillot waited until October 7 to harvest this fruit, very late even by the standards of the year. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2035. Henri Boillot turned out a superb set of 2010 reds. Best of all, readers won’t have to shell out a fortune to enjoy them, as a number of the more modestly priced wines far exceed the quality of their respective appellations. Yields came in at 20-22 hectoliters per hectare, a 40% decrease over the more typical production of 35 hectoliters per hectare. Boillot began harvesting on September 29 and ended on October 7, among the latest, if not the latest, to finish picking. Fermentations lasted about 29 days on average. Boillot has augmented his holdings with 5 hectares of vineyards that came online in 2010. I tasted all of these wines at Boillot’s cellars in Volnay. Boillot told me he plans to have his new facility in the Champ Lins section of Meursault fully operational for both whites and reds by summer 2012. Importers: Massanois Imports, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 470-6769, Cynthia Hurley French Wines, West Newton, MA Tel 617-965-4251 www.cynthiahurley.com and Chelsea Ventures, LLC, 1601 South Canal St, Chicago, IL 60616 tel. 847-920-5052
(from very old vines cropped at 20 hectoliters per hectare): Bright, clear ruby-red. Multidimensional nose combines black raspberry, clove, licorice, mint, leather and game. Silky on entry, then saline and powerful but utterly seamless in the middle. Solid as a rock but not at all heavy. Perfectly integrated acidity and suave, building tannins gives this chewy, sappy wine outstanding thrust on the extremely long, resounding finish.
About the producer
Based in Meursault and farming some of the finest vineyards in the Côte de Beaune, Henri Boillot is a leading address in Burgundy. He crafts fine Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but the estate is best known for its flagship monopole vineyard, Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos de la Mouchère.