1996 Chambertin Clos de Beze

This dark ruby-colored wine is big, dense and muscular. Produced from 55 year old vines, it displays smoke, blackberry, cassis, stones, beef blood, and Asian spices on the nose. This brooding, fat, broad-shouldered, massively deep, intense, and chewy-textured wine has a highly concentrated and extracted full body. It possesses a tannic (soft, round tannins that will most assuredly melt with cellaring) structure and loads of super-ripe black fruits. This is a stellar example of its highly-reputed terroir. My instincts suggest that the Bonnes Mares may become even more complex in time but there is no doubting the sublime quality of this Beze. Bravo! to Robert and Serge Groffier! This wine was a first-rate example of its terroir. The meticulous work of Serge Groffier (Robert's son) in the vineyards is evidenced by each glassful of nectar from this well-known and certainly soon-to-be-famous domaine. This wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered between December 1, 1997 and mid-January, 1998. A Peter Vezan Selection (Paris Fax # 011-33-1-42-65-42-93).