2008 Chapelle Chambertin

Deep red-ruby. Reticent but pure aromas of dark fruits, smoked meat, minerals, pepper and sexy oak, plus a whiff of garrigue . Concentrated, aromatic and sweet, with enticing herbal and peppery lift to the dark fruit and licorice flavors. Not as fleshy as the Beaux Monts but very pure, scented and long. Always the best-looking grapes along with the Feusselottes, notes Tremblay.

Savory sirloin juices are suggested on the nose and palate of the Tremblay 2008 Chapelle-Chambertin (tasted from bottle) to an extent that makes you shake your head wondering how such a thing could come from grapes. (We’re talking here about especially tiny berries and millerandage-riddled clusters, as is the case every year from these ancient vines.) That said, plenty of ripe cassis, dark cherry, and licorice is present to compliment this wine’s remarkably vivid carnal side. Dense, fine-grained tannin allied to energetic intensity of fresh fruit suggest the rippling of well-developed muscles in a torso that some (including me) would say is inherently testosterone-laden as a matter of terroir. Expect at least 12-15 years of vigor, but don’t look for charm. While few could enjoy the combination of expendable income and luck it would require, a comparison of this Chapelle with that of Claude Dugat will make for a startling combination of truth-in-terroir with stark stylistic divergence. Jun 2010, www.robertparker.com