2008 Domaine François Bertheau Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru

Bertheau’s 2008 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses offers delightful scents and flavors or cherry and pomegranate; musky narcissus and peony; as well as nut oils. Silken-textured – almost a bit buttery – and refined, it offers a long, lifted, soothing, red licorice-, nut oil-, flower- and cherry pit-tinged finish. Hints of meat stock add carnal complexity, though I miss any overt sense of minerality. I’d look for close to a decade’s worth of delightful intrigue here. Francois Bertheau’s tendency toward rendering frisky, sharply-etched and sharp-edged Pinot was practically bound to be accentuated by 2008 vintage character, and the quality of results varied considerably by appellation. Asked which of 2007 and 2008 were more challenging, Bertheau answered, in English, “fifty-fifty,” but this is one address where I found the softer, riper, if relatively diffuse personality of the former vintage more satisfying. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524