2007 Charmes Chambertin
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Tasting notes
Notes of game and animal fur convey a decidedly different cast to Serafin’s 2007 Charmes-Chambertin from any of his other 2007s, and these are allied to generously ripe cassis and black raspberry. Quite corseted in tannin, this is nonetheless full of fruit concentration, with notes of bitter chocolate, licorice, vanilla, and peony adding alluring complexity. As with the in many respects similar Cazetiers, this seems to have energy and sap to burn. What’s more, there is a saliva-inducing, saline savor in the finish that I miss with other Serafin wines of this or the 2008 vintage. This Charmes might not be the most charming, bit it is certainly impressive, and ought to be worth attending to for a dozen years. “In two thousand eight, the grapes had too much acid,” states Christian Serafin, “and in 2009, perhaps too much sugar,” he adds with a smile. Serafin says he had to perform a more rigorous de-leafing, green harvesting and triage in 2008 than in 2007. “It’s an awkward vintage for restaurants,” he points out about 2008, “because most of them sell the wines to be drunk young, and these wines will still not be very approachable at that stage.” Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Good medium red-ruby. Dark wild berries, violet, licorice and underbrush on the nose. Sweet, lush and deep; more supple in the early going than the Cazetiers, which is typical of these two wines chez Serafin. Densely packed flavors of wild berries and chocolate. Finishes broad and very ripe, with suave, fine-grained tannins and lingering subtle perfume. Will this wine shut down in the bottle? For his part, Serafin, who managed to get fruit with higher density and higher acidity than many of his colleagues in the village in 2007, believes that a number of his wines may go into a shell in the not-too-distant future.
Deep ruby-red. Very pure aromas of black cherry, violet, licorice and bitter chocolate; more expressive today than the Cazetiers. Lush, pliant and sweet, but with outstanding elegance for such a rich, ripe example of the vintage. This really spreads out on the back end and perfumes the palate. The tannins here are less apparent today than those of the Cazetiers.