1995 Chambolle Musigny Les Charmes

Stylistically meriting its name, the Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes is Barthod's finest 1995: Dark ruby colored, with a super-refined nose of roses, violets and sweet fruits, this velvety textured, medium-to-full bodied wine is packed with concentrated ripe sweet cherries. Extremely elegant, yet flavor-filled, this long and complex wine will be at its best between 2002-2010. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy between January 7 and January 29. The wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Pinot Noir, a fragile varietal, reacts poorly to fining, filtration, and careless bottling techniques, I recommend caution when considering buying a red burgundy based on cask samples. I called it as I tasted it, and hope the bottled wine reflects the quality of the samples I was provided. The vivacious Ghislaine Barthod makes elegant Chambolle-Musignys with a noticeable wild mushroom/earthy component that I find very attractive. Her wines age well and have good structure. Qualitatively, Barthod's premier crus do not differ that much, but the flavors and styles change with the terroir. Barthod's yields in 1995 (similar to those of other producers), were much lower than average (28-32 hectoliters/hectare versus 40 h/h). Importer: Neal Rosenthal, Select Vineyards, Shekomeko, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990.