2005 Gevrey Chambertin Les Corbeaux Vieilles Vignes
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Tasting notes
Bright, deep ruby-red. Pure dark berries, tar and violet on the high-pitched nose. At once lush and juicy, with terrific definition to its flavors of black fruits, tar and mint. The substantial, strong tannins reach the front teeth. Finishes uncompromisingly dry but with the fat of the year. Bachelet tends to press early, as he's afraid of getting too much extraction of tannins in the presence of alcohol. This one needs a solid decade of bottle aging.
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Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Bachelet’s 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Corbeaux (from a tiny cru adjacent to Mazis and still palpably gassy from late malo) offers a profound nose of fresh blackberry and smoked meat. It displays a lean, sharply-focused palate of ripe and deep but tart black fruits and salted, toasted walnuts, with an undertone of bitter chocolate. The contrast of darkly-hued fruit, stony minerality, and palpably high extract with persistent fresh, tart, juiciness is striking, but this clearly outstanding wine nevertheless really needs time to knit itself and reveal its future personality. (The 2004 Bachelet crus, incidentally, are refined, well-concentrated classics for that vintage, juxtaposing tart fresh fruit with a subtle creaminess, and very much worth cellaring for a few years.) Various Importers. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet; fax 011- 333-80-24-29-70.
(the malo finished in September) Good medium ruby. Wild aromas of black raspberry and smoked meat; this couldn't be from anywhere but Gevrey. Deep and powerful on the palate, with black fruit flavors accented by licorice and brown spices. Finishes with major ripe tannins and superb length. This long and structured wine will reward a decade of aging.