2016 Chambertin
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Chambertin Grand Cru from Bernstein is in the same ballpark as the 2015 yet is in a more classic, focused style. Nevertheless, it still leads with incredible fruit and has beautiful notes of red and black fruits, white flowers, tons of flinty minerality, and even a touch of lit black powder. It shows more sappy floral notes with time in the glass and closes down relatively quickly, yet never loses this beautiful sense of purity, elegance, and underlying power. This is a brilliantly pure, ethereal Chambertin that needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will keep for 2-3 decades. This estate has been on fire recently, and if this 2016 is any measure, it doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Full dark red; more saturated than the Clos de Bèze. Shows a brooding, dark character on the nose, with aromas of blackberry and licorice complicated by a subtle animal quality. Incredibly concentrated but youthfully imploded, with its sappy dark berry, spice and earth flavors intensified by underlying saline minerality. Despite the impression of pent-up power, there's nothing hard about this beauty. The extraordinary slow-mounting finish goes on and on with uncanny subtle persistence, leaving the taste buds quivering.
100% new oak. Barrel sample. Very dark crimson. Very intense and like an exotic medicine almost. Rich and majestic. Has an extra richness and concentration over the Clos de Bèze. Magnificent really. Very precisely made. Cool and fresh and rich – a most intriguing blend. Hugely appetising. Lots to chew on but no drying tannins. Really very exciting. Deeply flavoured and glossy. (JR)
About the producer
Olivier Bernstein is among the most successful producers in Burgundy, setting the bar high for the growing number of micro-négociants in the region by producing wines that compete with those of the Côte d’Or’s finest domaines.