CHAMBERTIN CLOS DE BÈZE

The 2018 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru is the most opulent of the four tasted from this vineyard, ravishing dark cherries, raspberry and cranberry scents, touches of tobacco and humidor. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, real structure and density, still quite oaky with a creamy texture though that will be subsumed with time. A serious Grand Cru that will demand several years in bottle, but mercurial and just losing some of its initial finesse with aeration. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting. Drinking range: 2027 - 2057 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Nov 2022)

(from a 1.29 ha parcel). An even spicier and wonderfully expansive nose reflects notes of anise, clove, lavender and violet that suffuse the red and dark pinot fruit scents. The mouthfeel of the big-bodied flavors possess a lovely sense of underlying tension along with good detail and a subtle minerality on the equally firm but somewhat less austere finale. This is slightly more complete and a wine of class and grace though make no mistake, if you wish to see it at its peak, a good deal of patience is advised. Drinking range: 2040 - Rating: 93-96 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2020)

The 2018 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru soars from the glass with a rich bouquet of cassis, dark berries, baking chocolate, woodsmoke, loamy soil, licorice and grilled game. On the palate, it's full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with terrific energy and structural refinement despite the wine's texture and volume and a long, saline finish. Rating: 94-96 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Jan 2020)