2015 Chambertin

Good dark red-ruby color. Very ripe, almost port-like aromas of black cherry, dark berries and sweet oak convey a sexy balsamic quality. Wonderfully plush and large-scaled but with its black cherry, mocha and spice flavors displaying little in the way of easy sweetness today. Remarkably tactile, solid wine but not showing the inner-mouth tension or vibrant mineral and floral notes it displayed from barrel in the autumn of 2016. This hugely dense 2015 appears to be in the process of shutting down hard and will likely require at least as much patience as the Bonnes-Mares.

The 2015 Chambertin Grand Cru consists of three barrels this year, and is matured in 100% new oak and includes 50% whole bunch. It has a very clean and precise bouquet, more backward and broody than the Bonnes-Mares, the oak in the driving seat at the moment but with plenty of black fruit behind it. The palate is medium-bodied with smooth tannin, succulent black and red fruit with white pepper and spice box notes, a clinical thread of acidity that binds together a harmonious, almost understated finish. A case of 'less is more' here.

(100% new oak; this fruit was harvested at an unusually high 13% potential alcohol and chaptalized to 13.2%): Dark red with ruby tones. Aromas of dark berries, sweet oak and licorice show a lovely floral complexity. Sweet and round but youthfully taut, with its impressive density leavened by a juicy quality. Extremely primary but already explosive on the back end, this grand cru is the longest and chewiest 2015 chez Mortet. Leaves scents of violet and bitter chocolate behind in the empty glass.