2016 Chambertin Clos de Beze

Not the brightest colour, lighter at the rim. There is a fair amount of oak evident, with fruit waiting to emerge from behind. It builds extremely well in the mouth, infusing the second half of the palate, with a very complete dark fruit rounding the wine out. Even some black cherry in with the dark raspberry. Very lovely.

(the yield here was normal in 2016): Healthy dark color. Fully ripe and downright sexy on the nose, offering scents of black raspberry, dark cherry, mocha, minerals and smoked meat. Boasts terrific sweetness and density, with its dark fruit and mineral flavors complicated by a note of oaky torrefaction and nicely framed by harmonious acidity. The long, rising, ripely tannic finish features chewy tannins that hit the palate later than those of the Chambertin, allowing the sweet fruit to build. Incidentally, I tasted a normal sample as well as a barrel that received an "étuvage" treatment, which involves injecting steam in an attempt to tone down the early exotic wood element that the estate's Clos de Bèze typically shows in the early going. The latter barrel showed more immediate harmony but the normal barrel, while a bit tougher and more tannic on first pour, immediately gained in sweetness in the glass.

The 2016 Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru was showing just a little more reduction than the Chambertin this year, though it seems to dissipate and reveal profoundly complex dark berry and sous-bois scents, hints of truffle, bay leaf and clove. However, the palate clearly has more density and more robust tannins that together suggest it is endowed with greater longevity than the Chambertin. There is a crescendo of flavors here, remaining very focused, very intense with darker fruit fanning out on the finish that is akin to major chord thundering from a grand piano. This is an aristocratic, blue-blooded Clos de Beze that deserves a decade in the cellar, within touching distance of the imperious 2015 Clos de Beze.