LE CHAMBERTIN

(made via fermentation intégrale in a single new barrel and aging in the same barrique): Reticent, rather cool scents of black cherry and licorice; I might have picked this blind as Clos Vougeot. Then tactile and imploded but without any rough edges; quite penetrating and youthfully medicinal but with a sexy sweetness that carries the flavors of dark fruits, minerals, spices and menthol. This wine expands dramatically in the mouth, ultimately showing outstanding volume. Finishes with outstanding rising length and very suave tannins, with virtually no sign of the new oak. Guillaume Boillot noted that he gets an intensification of the small uncrushed berries in a closed environment--i.e., a new barrique--by infusion, as all he does is gently turn the barrel. He added that the total cuvaison time can be almost twice as long as his wines made in traditional cuves. Rating: 95-98 Stephen Tanzer, www.vinousmedia.com (Jan 2018)