1996 Gevrey Chambertin Au Velle
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Tasting notes
This wine is a dark ruby/purple and displays scents of sweet and juicy cherries and black currants. It is an oily, fat, broad, plump, firmly-structured, foursquare, and masculine wine crammed with brambleberries, iron, and stones. This tannic, brooding, and austere offering will require patience, but I am confident it will evolve beautifully - much like a similarly constructed Nuits. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2008+. Importer: Martine's Wines, Inc., San Rafael, CA; tel (415) 485-1800.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Pierre Rovani
More reviews and scores
Bright ruby color. Blackberry, licorice, smoke, mint and toasted bread on the nose. Higher pitched and more minerally in the mouth; dominated by its acids and tannins and almost painful to taste today. But this powerful, backward village wine appears to have the balance to reward aging. Features a late burst of black cherry and blueberry on the aftertaste.
About the producer
This estate, today with Arnaud Mortet at the helm, makes some of Gevrey-Chambertin’s finest wines. Working with 16 hectares, as well as a few négociant parcels, this property makes perfumed and chiselled Pinot Noir.