2008 Mazis Chambertin

The Rousseau 2008 Mazy–Chambertin impresses the nose with ripe cherry, licorice, and an array of pungent spices. The wine bursts onto the palate with juicy exuberance and tactile impingement of spices, and finishes with lip-smacking length, hints of cherry pit bitterness, peat, charred red meats, and crushed stone adding interest. Athletically lean and energetic, this might well gain richness of texture in bottle, and I wouldn’t hesitate to hold some for a dozen or more years. Eric Rousseau did not begin harvesting until September 28, but was finished already on October 4, with – as usual – the entire burden of selection placed on his pickers. The resultant wines prove that, as he puts it “they know what they’re doing” and sorting tables are unnecessary. Grapes came in between around 12% and 13.2%, were virtually all destemmed, and were only lightly chaptalized. Levels of malic acid were however higher even than in 2004, reports Rousseau, who compares the fruit with that of 1996, but does not finger the wines as strong candidates for long-term aging (“long term” – bear in mind – meaning upwards of 20 years in the context of a Rousseau track-record). When I tasted his 2008s in late February, Rousseau was planning to bottle them in March or April, a bit earlier than usual, although several struck me as relatively unformed. But then, his malos had finished by July – not late in terms of the vintage. (Unfortunately, I had only one chance to taste Rousseau 2007s: fleetingly, selectively, at a stage too early to merit reporting on in detail, although the trend was promising and Rousseau is keen on the results.) Importer: Frederic Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

Medium bright red. Spicy black cherry, with hints of licorice and game and good floral lift. Sweet and pure, with juicy acidity framing the spicy red fruit and mineral flavors. There are vineyard-typical nuances of leather and game, but this is in a rather elegant style, and suppler at this stage than I would have expected from a 2008.