2010 Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses

The 2010 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses is initially rather cool and inward, then blossoms gradually with time in the glass. It is a beautifully poised, centered wine endowed with tremendous focus and inner calm. Red berries, spices, crushed flowers and saline notes all continue to build as the wine works its way to the boisterous finish. This is another totally entrancing wine. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2030. Long-time oenologist Francois Millet was away during my visit to Burgundy, so I can’t relay his always visually evocative thoughts on recent vintages. At the end of the day, though, these wines need no words; they speak for themselves, and then some. Commercial director Jean-Luc Pepin was kind enough to show me all of the 2010s and 2009s (from bottle), including the seldom seen Bourgogne Blanc. I will report on the 2009s in the April issue. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Atlanta Wholesale Wines, Atlanta, GA; tel. (404) 696-9440; C?Est Vin, District of Columbia; tel. (703) 243-3559; Dreyfus Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770

Good deep red. Pungent aromas of tangy raspberry and crushed rock. Wonderfully lush and complex, especially for such a pristine, primary wine. Tangy flavors of cherry, fresh raspberry, pomegranate and licorice are lifted by strong floral and mineral elements. Wonderfully dense, precise and long, conveying an impression of tautness without any hardness. Potentially stunning.

Chez Mugnier, there’s a broad, almost animal quality to the Amoureuses. Here it is very concentrated and finely chiselled. Lot of tannin on the end. Very firm on the finish. I don’t think this particular vintage is especially feminine! True grit more like. SO persistent! (JR)