2006 Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru

Representing as usual the co-fermentation of fruit from La Perriere (below Mazis) and Craipillot (immediately west of the village), Claude Dugat's 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru smells of rose rip, fresh dark cherry and red licorice. Tart but ripely-concentrated berries and raw red meat mingle on a palate that takes on an initial aura of richness thanks to its sense of viscosity and sweetness of fruit, but then finishes with an exposed streak of tannin that strikes me as accentuated by the influence of (80%) new wood. This is impressive in its not very charming way, and certainly seems to demand several years of bottle age before being worth revisiting. At that point, one needs to assess how the tannins have evolved. "I like the 2006s a lot for their very Pinot character, their elegance, and the expression of their respective terroirs," says Claude Dugat, echoing the sentiment expressed by a great many growers about this vintage, and adding that his crop's potential alcohol levels were significantly lower than in 2005. That said, richness and robustness nearly always seem to be in the cards at this address, and in fact the 2006 collection displays formidable density and tanninity, the latter at times reinforced by the effects of new wood. Dugat admits – again, echoing the observation of numerous growers – that his 2006s put on weight and structure in the course of elevage. (The suggested pricing I received for these wines seemed implausibly high, incidentally, and I tempered it in response to spot-checking. But it should be noted that market prices for these wines are both especially high and highly variable.) Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083