1995 Griotte Chambertin

The spectacular Griotte-Chambertin is my favorite of Drouhin's offerings in 1995. Darkly-colored and revealing a sublime nose of bacon and luscious, jammy cherries it explodes with intensely ripe red fruits, mocha and the flavors of a well-reduced veal stock (a dark, sweet, meat savor). Silky-smooth, full-bodied and powerful, its flavors go on and on. It needs to be cellared for 6-7 years and will drink admirably for 8+ years. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy between January 7 and January 29. The wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Pinot Noir, a fragile varietal, reacts poorly to fining, filtration, and careless bottling techniques, I recommend caution when considering buying a red burgundy based on cask samples. I called it as I tasted it, and hope the bottled wine reflects the quality of the samples I was provided. As I tasted through Drouhin's offerings of 1995 red burgundies, I was struck by just how differently each terroir expressed itself. Generally, in truly great vintages ('85 and '90 in Burgundy and '82 and '90 in Bordeaux), young reds, at least when young, tend to express vintage characteristics more than individual terroirs. 1995 is an outstanding vintage, just below the quality of '85 and '90. However, the terroir characteristics of the 1995s are very evident, especially at Maison Joseph Drouhin. Perhaps the tight, concentrated fruit that characterizes 1995 allows more room for the terroir to show itself (as opposed to '85 and '90's lush forward, expressive fruit). Importer: Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel: (212) 818-0770.