2012 Charmes Chambertin Tres Vieilles Vignes
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Full dark red. Utterly primary on the nose, offering medicinal scents of blueberry, cassis, violet and licorice, plus hints of cherry confiture and tart cherry stomp. Compellingly rich, opulent and sweet--almost liqueur-like in its ripeness. This remarkably plush, silky wine conveys a strong impression of sucrosité but is not at all ready to drink today, as its spring is still very tightly coiled. Densely packed, intense flavors of dark berries, cherry and dried flowers are complicated by a subtle torrefaction element. Conveys an exhilarating high-toned character and finishes extremely long, with very smooth tannins for the vintage. (13.7% alcohol; 3.4 pH; 22 hectoliters per hectare produced)
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The Roty 2012 Charmes-Chambertin is astoundingly good, and it has yet to shut down in the cellar. The bouquet reveals a lovely melange of black cherry, plum and rich soil tones that synergize beautifully with the wine's high toast cooperage. On the palate, the wine is carrying quite a bit of puppy fat that makes it deceptively accessible, but it's clear that when the very serious and refined structural chassis hidden behind that youthful precocity begins to open up a decade or so down the line, it will be an even more massive, bottomless wine. What a legacy the late Philippe Roty has left us!
Dark red. Highly complex aromas of raspberry, strawberry, redcurrant blueberry, iron and dried flowers. Sappy on entry, then quite backward in the middle palate despite hinting at superripeness, with a crunchy blueberry flavor joined on the end by almost medicinal notes of red licorice and menthol. With its chewy, mouth-saturating tannins, this is almost austere today. But the extremely long, dry finish leaves the mouth vibrating. As in most successful vintages, this wine is likely to enjoy a long evolution in bottle.
Good deep red with ruby highlights. Wild, reduced nose cleared with air to reveal scents of blueberry, wild strawberry, violet, licorice and smoky, stony minerality. A step up in concentration and sweetness from the Griottes, boasting great silkiness and fullness without any undue weight. Finishes with perfectly integrated tannins and outstanding length and grip. The wine's nearly unctuous texture currently masks its superb underlying acidity.