2005 Charmes Chambertin

Bright ruby-red. Wild, surprisingly expressive aromas of blackberry, violet, mocha and game. Wonderfully silky and seamless in the mouth, with terrific density and depth of texture and an insidious sweetness. Downright thick for a wine from Bachelet but with plenty of energy. This mounts and builds on the back half, staining the palate with smoky dark berry and game flavor on the rising finish. The tannins are firm and substantial but essentially sweet. This was 12.5% natural alcohol chaptalized to 13.5%. I can see this one evolving positively into its third decade of life.

The 2005 Charmes-Chambertin (from 80-year-old, tiny-berried, tiny-clustered vines in the core Charmes) is destined to become one of the benchmarks of this great vintage as well as of Bachelet’s career. Too bad there will only be around 200 cases! A gorgeous nose of black cherry, blackberry, violets, rowan berry and licorice leads to a deeply black-fruited, expansive, satin-textured palate with undertones of bitter black chocolate, bitter-sweet roasted nuts, chalk, and iodine. (The iodine lends these black fruits a slightly medicinal aspect – and what wouldn’t this cure, I wonder?!). This Charmes exhibits amazing density and low-toned flavors in combination with lift, elegance and persistently engaging primary fruit juiciness. The carnal side of Pinot is entirely sublimated for now and the tannins so fine as to melt into the background. Save this for 2020 or beyond, please! (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.

Medium ruby. Blackberry, violet and bitter chocolate on the nose. Densely packed, creamy and deep, with another dimension of texture and palate coverage. Fat for a Bachelet Charmes. Wonderfully harmonious acids have the effect of carrying the fruit through a very long, tactile finish of great charm. "Some drought here produced a wine with somewhat lower acidity, and it's unusually expansive for a Charmes at this stage," said Bachelet. "It's certainly the best Charmes I've ever made."