1997 Griotte Chambertin

Given the domaine's patrimony of vine genetics and its attentive farming, it's no surprise that Claude Dugat often succeeded especially well in more difficult vintages, and the 1997 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru illustrates that thesis admirably. Wafting from the glass with aromas of plums, red berries, peonies, sweet spices and orange rind, it's full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with an ample core of impressively concentrated fruit, bright acids and a long, sapid finish. Given its sense of completeness and vitality at age 25, I suspect few would guess 1997 in a blind tasting.