2015 Ruchottes Chambertin
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Tasting notes
The 2015 Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru shows quite a bit of new oak on the nose of dusky black fruit laced with tobacco and a little sous-bois , all nicely defined but burly and broad-shouldered. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin and somewhat dry and oppressive at the moment, although there is substance on the finish. Sinewy and almost rustic in style, this is almost an anachronistic Grand Cru, but one that I am fascinated to see evolve. Lo and behold, it ameliorates with aeration, implying that the future is assured. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
Steen Öhman, Winehog
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru has shut down since I last tasted it, but the wine's immense potential is still obvious. Unwinding with aeration to reveal a deep bouquet of wild berries, raw cocoa and coniferous forest floor, it's full-bodied, ample and powerful, with a deep, layered core and an authoritative, large-scaled frame. With superb concentration and juicy balancing acids, all the elements are in place: the only missing ingredient is time.
Good bright, dark red. Vibrant scents of raspberry, spices, mocha and burnished oak are lifted by a rose petal high note. Wonderfully silky and suave on entry, then seriously concentrated and youthfully tight in the middle, with its savory flavors of red berries, spices and dried flowers framed by a powerful spine of minerals and ripe tannins. Finishes spicy and very long. One can still appreciate this wine's pliancy and juiciness but it's starting to shut down in bottle and may not emerge for seven or eight years.