2011 Gevrey Chambertin Les Champeaux

(these vines are now 100 years old, according to Arnaud Mortet; 80% new oak): Deep red. Liqueur-like aromas of raspberry and kirsch , complicated by sweet oak and soil tones. The palate shows a tiny-berry concentration and lovely silky richness and depth, but sound acidity and firm underlying minerality leaven its sweetness. Very youthful, energetic wine with a firm spine of noble tannins. No easy sweetness here but really builds on the long finish.

The 2011 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux is all about subtlety and grace. Not quite as juicy as the 1er Cru, the Champeaux is built on a linear, energetic frame. Silky, aromatic and lifted, the 2011 impresses for its balance and class. Hints of cinnamon, savory herbs and violets are woven into the close.

(60% new oak): Bright, deep red. Aromas of red berries, smoky underbrush, minerals and game. Juicy and bright but imploded today and showing less give and more corners than the 1er Cru. Finishes firm, classically dry and long, with smoke and mineral notes. Mortet has vines in all four corners of this rocky appellation, with an average age of 60 years, and works his parcels entirely with a horse.