2008 Domaine Ghislaine Barthod Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru
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Tasting notes
The 2008 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras is a prototypical wine for the year. Cool, inward and tense, it shows superb precision in its dark fruit, spices, menthol and tar. The wine literally wraps around the palate with serious intensity and a beguiling personality that is impossible to resist. The finish is pointed and flat-out beautiful. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2028. There is no better place to learn about the subtleties of Chambolle than in the cellars of Ghislaine Barthod. With one Bourgogne and nine Chambolles, including eight 1er Crus, Barthod’s wines run the gamut from the delicate to the virile, all within the confines of this tiny village. Every wine I tasted during my recent visit was impeccable. I can’t recommend the wines of this small, family-run domaine highly enough. Barthod was the first grower to pick in Chambolle. She started on September 8 with the goal of trying to maintain as much freshness as possible. The wines came in with around 13% natural alcohol. The fruit was 100% destemmed. I also tasted a handful of 2008s, a vintage defined by striking aromatics and plenty of energy. The fruit was harvested much later than in 2009, beginning on September 26 and finishing on October 4. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990
Critic scores
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Good bright, dark red. Very pure, refined aromas of black cherry, spices, minerals and crushed stone, plus a whiff of almond. Dense, sweet, rich and deep; this has a chewy, three-dimensional texture that transcends the vintage. Plenty of flesh here to support the tannins. Red and darker fruits are perked up by menthol and licorice notes. Finishes crystalline, stony and very long, with building energy. A superb vin de terroir that should offer pleasure for 15 to 20 years.
Rich, velvety nose. Very solid and dry on the end. Awfully firm and dry on the end. (JR)
(about 25% new oak; this is Barthod's largest holding after her village wine) Brilliant, deep red-ruby. Very dark, complex aromas of blackberry, black raspberry, licorice, cocoa, crushed rock and wild herbs. Dense on entry, then wonderfully sweet but vibrant in the middle, with an element of fruity peppercorn giving the wine penetrating vinosity. This utterly primary wine boasts uncanny lift and energy and finishes with outstanding palate-staining grip and length. It's still early days, but I can't recall being more impressed by a young wine at Barthod.
About the producer
A Burgundy icon and definitive voice of Chambolle-Musigny, crafting ethereal Pinot Noir with crystalline precision.