2008 Chambertin Clos de Beze

The Raphet 2008 Chambertin Clos de Beze smells alluringly of ripe dark cherry, licorice, ginger, blond tobacco, and hyacinth. Supple and tender, loaded with lightly-cooked cherry yet preserving a vintage-typical fruit skin edge and counterpoint of cherry pit piquancy, this exhibits a pure, penetrating persistence free of superficial sweetness that signals one's being in the presence of ancient vines in a great site. This rendition hasn't the depth of the very best wines that have come from this small parcel over the years, but it will remain memorably delicious for at least a dozen years. Gerard Raphet's 2008s finished malo by the end of the following January, which is amazingly early for this vintage, and not necessarily advantageous. (He suspects the environment of his new facility has something to do with that rapidity.) He bottled them last January. As a group these wines are not particularly dark or youthful in color, nor do they for the most part exhibit the sort of brightness that I associate with their vintage. That said, they are generous and charming, often with attractively-integrated hints of caramelization. Yields were way down in both 2007 and 2008, notes Raphet, though one can hardly attribute any special degree of vinous concentration to this fact. In common with me, Raphet finds his 2007s - which to my surprise held their own vis-a-vis 2008 - ideal for drinking young. Peter Vezan Selections (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93