2012 Domaine Arlaud Père & Fils Chambolle-Musigny

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny Village comes predominantly from vines toward Morey. The nose is well-defined with clean raspberry and mulberry fruit, perhaps not quite displaying the finesse of the Morey Villages at the moment. The palate is nicely balanced with a fleshy entry. The tannins feel ripe and supple with plenty of body on the linear finish. This may need a little more bottle age than the Morey Village to find its groove after bottling. After scheduling and re-scheduling numerous times during my November tastings, I finally reached Domaine Arlaud Pere & Fils for the first time in late January. But good things come to those that wait and I found much to admire in Cyprien Arlaud’s 2012s. The origin of the estate dates back to a wedding in 1949 when Joseph Arlaud married Renee Amiot. Among the wedding presents were tracts of vineyard, which is always more useful than a toaster or an ornamental clock. Joseph was succeeded by Herve Arlaud in 1982 and invested in new vineyards and the estate has now been passed to his three children: Cyprien, Romain and Bertille. The domaine has eschewed herbicides since 1999 and transferred the vineyards to organic viticulture in 2004, certified three years later. Naturally (no pun intended) they started embracing biodynamics in 2009, including the use of horses in the vineyard to reduce soil compaction. The winery was constructed in 2003 in Morey-Saint-Denis, on the “other side” of the RN74 away from the village, a less picturesque part of the appellation for sure, but with much more space to work in. The fruit is de-stemmed although Cyprien does play with whole cluster fruit subject to the growing season. Natural yeasts are used during alcoholic fermentation and oak tends to be 15-20% for village crus up to 40-80% for grand crus. When I visited the winery, it was after a long day tasting, but even so my senses lit up when I sipped the first sample. Here are wines made in a very pure and natural style, each evocative of their respective terroirs. Each wine was imbued with superb freshness and delineation; occasionally evoking images of the sea, at other times flowers. Cyprien explained how they wait for the optimal moment to harvest their vines, which can differ by days between different crus within the same appellation (see note for “Les Ruchots”.) Importer: North Berkeley Wine www.northberkeleyimports.com and also Raeburn Fine Wines (UK)

Bright medium red. Slightly reduced, musky aromas of strawberry, raspberry and spices. Tighter on the palate than the village Morey, with sound acidity giving shape to the red berry and spice flavors. Good fruit intensity here but finishes with slightly drying tannins.

Bright medium red. Expressive, soil-driven aromas of strawberry, raspberry, rose petal and spices. Supple and bright, with sexy red fruit and spice flavors nicely framed by harmonious acidity. Finishes lightly saline and energetic, with dusty, fine-grained tannins and a faint smoky quality. "Two thousand ten was my first vintage that struck me as good from the beginning," noted Cyprien Arlaud, who took over winemaking at the family domain in 1997.