2012 Chambertin

Pure texture and voluptuousness emerge from the 2012 Chambertin. Dark, rich and layered, the 2012 is endowed with explosive black fruit, smoke, tobacco, licorice and earthiness. Cloves, menthol and a host of balsamic-inflected overtones wrap around the finish. The Perrot-Minot house style comes through in spades.

The 2012 Chambertin Grand Cru, which also comes from Pierre Damoy’s holdings (mid-slope south in the vineyard) and includes 50% whole cluster fruit, has a marine-influenced bouquet with fine delineation, hints of truffle and white pepper emerging with time amongst the crowded black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a dash of spice on the opening, a gentle but persistent grip that leads to a clean and very pure finish that offers hints of white pepper (again) and mushroom. This is a well-made Chambertin that just needs to muster a little more personality. The job of a wine critic is not easy, not at this level. There is a level of expectation on behalf of the winemaker commensurate with his generic red, all the way up to his grand cru, expectation determined less by the performance of its peers a la Bordeaux, but governed by the effort, the labor and love that has been expended in its creation. Christophe Perrot-Minot is one winemaker who I admire. We taste through his wines but it’s a two-way street. Christophe appreciates feedback, which I oblige if time permits and they do not expect scores or individual assessments and that they are aware my response will be frank. Why lie when it’s going to be written? What I appreciate about Christophe is that I perhaps hit him hard with my opinion that his wines have a leitmotif that might exist at the expense of terroir expression. To paraphrase, if you like one of Perrot-Minot’s wines you will be endeared to them all since my palate continually picked out similar fruit profiles and textures. An analogy that sprang to mind was of someone trying too hard to be your friend. During our exchange, I suggested that just maybe, he should not be so severe in his selection, as admirable that may be. His wines might succor more charm if just for once they included a soupcon of errant berries, perhaps dial down a notch the pigeage and remontage, just to think about the wines less intensely than I think he does. Just go with the flow. That has been my conclusion having tasted here before and it is no different apropos his 2012s. “We lost quantity during flowering, especially in the south part of Cote de Nuits,” Christophe informs. “It was not a very nice summer, but during the harvest it was good weather. Part of the fruit was not ripe so it was important to sort. We produced around 20 to 25 hectoliters per hectare. I cannot remember the date we started the harvest...when it was ripe for me!”I liked these wines, but I think they can be even better. They all contain immense fruit purity with those dark cherry fruit and cashmere textures are seductive. What I would like to see is a diversification in fruit profile, as I mentioned to Christophe, enhance the red fruit spectrum more, let the terroir speak louder than the intention of the winemaker. All Christophe’s wines were tasted from cask that had not been racked, which will be done just before bottling in spring. Importer: DNS Wines LLC – www.dnswines.com (CA) and also Lea & Sandeman, Justerini & Brooks and Berkmann.