2015 Chambertin Clos de Beze
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Tasting notes
The 2015 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru has to address some reduction issues at first, although there is plenty of brambly red berry fruit, cranberry and pomegranate on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin and layers of red and black fruit infused with crushed stone and veins of blue fruit. There is wonderful harmony and tension here, and real precision and intensity toward the finish that testify to the greatness of the 2015 vintage. Serious, delicious and quite compelling. Expect that plus sign against my score to come into play as this Clos-de-Bèze matures in bottle. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Allen Meadows, Burghound
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru is spectacular, wafting from the glass with a dramatic bouquet of sweet grilled meat, red and black fruit, candied peel and rich soil. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and powerful, with a lavishly gourmand attack that evokes the 2009 rendition, but this quickly segues into the mid-palate of an altogether more tautly structural, serious wine, its considerable dimension and concentration underwritten by racy acids. The finish is long and firm. This is a monumental Clos de Bèze built for the long haul.
Bright, dark red. Riper and more exotic today than the Chambertin, but with its aromas of dark fruits, spices and flowers a bit blocked by an element of exotic oak. Densely packed but extremely backward and imploded, and much harder to taste than the Chambertin, as the wine's fruit and licorice flavors are suppressed in the early going. Finishes classically dry and a bit unyielding; the substantial dusty tannins are ultimately rather suave but will require considerable bottle aging. I should note that this wine was also tough going a year ago from the barrel.
About the producer
Based in Gevrey-Chambertin, Domaine Armand Rousseau is one of Burgundy’s most famous estates. Revered for making unearthly expressions of Pinot Noir, the estate’s wines are some of the most collectable in the world.