2006 Charmes Chambertin Tres Vieilles Vignes

From vines in two parcels of the original Charmes said to be nearly 130 years old, the Roty 2006 Charmes-Chambertin Tres Vieilles Vignes offers bright, intensely penetrating ripe cherry shadowed in the nose by high-toned maraschino, almond extract, and Chartreuse-like floral and herbal distillate. Implosively concentrated, liqueur-like in fruit, and with formidable tannins, it finishes expansively and with a greater sense of textural polish than was evident in its initial assault on the palate. This needs time even to give one a clear idea of its personality, but almost certainly it is going to be a formidable and generous one. I would plan on re-visiting this in 3-4 years – were I, that is, lucky and wealthy enough to have some in my cellar. And try not to look back at the 2005 in comparison, as that sets an almost impossible standard even for these ancient vines and Roty's talent! Philippe Roty is among the many growers to assert that under-ripe fruit rather than rot was what really drove his 2006 selection process. "But, hail or no hail, I do a strict triage regardless; and besides" he notes with a laugh, "it hails every year in at least one part of Marsannay." He picked in a relative hurry the last week of September, because "as far as I'm concerned, above 13% potential alcohol you have surmaturite, and that's not good." Besides, like the Mugneret sisters and a considerable number of other top-notch growers, Roty favors routinely – if only slightly – chaptalizing his entire range to promote longer and, he believes, flavor- and texture-enhancing fermentation. (While I have mentioned in the text of my tasting notes those wines that are part of the personal domaine of Philippe Roty and bottled under his name, I have not reflected this in the naming of the wines, as the same label is used for those as for the Domaine Joseph Roty wines and they are all vinified and aged together by the same team.) Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

Good deep red-ruby. Brooding, reticent nose offers black cherry, licorice, crushed stone, leather and earth. Began mute but opened slowly in the glass to offer nuanced, sweet flavors of dark berries, licorice and spices, plus a suggestion of ripe strawberry. Mounts impressively on the back half, eventually finishing with explosive sappy length. This may be even less expressive today than the Mazis-and it's likely to shut down in bottle for an extended period-but there's more of everything here. At this point at the end of our tasting, Philippe Roty reiterated his belief that the estate's 2006s are riper than the 2007s and possess better acidity.

Here the nose is actually quite similar to that of the Griotte with generous wood and elegant if perhaps slightly earthier red berry and cherry fruit aromas melding with textured, powerful and mouth coating flavors brimming with dry extract and finishing with huge length, real drive and impeccable balance. This should age gracefully for years to come and will need at least a decade to arrive at its majority.