2005 Gevrey Chambertin Les Combottes

Good full ruby-red. Expressive aromas of black cherry, licorice and minerals. Juicy, pure and penetrating, with lovely intensity of flavor; at once dense and refined, with more stuffing than the Baudes but also terrific definition of flavor. Very fresh and long on the back, with dusty tannins and a sappy impression of extract. Lignier notes that the Morey old-vines seems heavy compared to this.

Lignier’s 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Combottes is from vines tucked up hill between Latricieres-Chambertin and the Mont Luisants portion of Clos de la Roche. Not surprisingly, it displays Grand Cru character. Rich black cherry, cherry pit and vanilla aromas usher in a sweet, soothing, fruit-saturated and expansive yet precise palate with very fine tannins. Low-toned meatiness and chalky minerality enter into the long finish. This is the tenacious Les Baude’s alter-ego it would seem, and a wine that could be enjoyed sooner, although it will almost certainly merit more than a decade in one’s cellar. ||There is a distressing cloud hanging over this venerable estate because Hubert Lignier and the American widow of his son, Romain, have been unable to agree on pooling their resources, with the result that two sets of 2006s were vinified (and the 2005s may end up being sold under two different labels). The 2005s I tasted had been drawn earlier in the day as approximations to the final blends. Wine Advocate.April, 2007