CHARMES CHAMBERTIN

Perrot-Minot’s 2008 Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes smells of fresh blackberry and dark cherry mingled with licorice and laced with crushed stone, carbon, and black pepper. This bottling – which Perrot-Minot likes to emphasize is from the upper reaches of its appellation, bordering Chambertin – is certainly more formidable than charming for now. Fine-grained tannins are accentuated by crushed stone and fruit pit in a slightly austere but undeniably gripping finish, and like the corresponding Chapelle-Chambertin the fruit here gained a greater sense of sweetness as the wine opened-up in the air. I would plan to give this 5-6 years in the bottle before revisiting and it will probably remain vigorous for more than twice that long. (June 2010) Rating: 92 David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate (Sept 2010)

This is unusually complex for a very young Charmes with an expressive nose of red and blue pinot fruit, plum, underbrush and plenty of pungent Gevrey-style damp earth nuances that continue onto the supple, round, pure and seductive flavors that are supported by a tannic structure that is quite fine and outstanding length. This makes a statement yet it is not a bruiser as it also should come around relatively quickly in the context of the appellation. Rating: 92-94 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jul 2010)