2010 Gevrey Chambertin Les Cazetiers

Good bright red. Fascinating aromas of red fruits, soil, coffee, white pepper and flowers, with some very ripe notes emerging as the sample opened in the glass. Sweet, fine-grained and primary, with lovely floral perfume lifting the lush middle palate. This penetrating beauty really spreads out to saturate the mouth. Finishes very long and aromatic, with suave tannins.

The 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers is all about detail and finesse. This finely sculpted, nuanced wine impresses for its precision and sheer elegance. Everything is simply in the right place. The sweetest, silkiest of tannins frame the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2030. I tasted an amazing range of 2010 reds at Jadot with long-term winemaker Jacques Lardiere and his successor Frederic Barnier. In order to make this large section of the report easier to read, I have broken up the wines into the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits. Lardiere and Barnier told me they were quite worried about the prospects for the harvest upon their return from summer vacations in August, but the year was saved by a perfect September. Yields are down 25-50% because of the frost and cold weather earlier in the year, but overall quality is very high. Lardiere and Barnier also noted that early on it appeared that there would be a wide gap in quality between the Cote de Beaune and the Cote de Nuits, but over time that gap narrowed to some extent. Still, there is little question the vintage was more challenging in the Cote de Beaune because of a rainier summer and overall higher precipitation throughout the year. Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756

The 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers is all about detail and finesse. This finely sculpted, nuanced wine impresses for its precision and sheer elegance. Everything is simply in the right place. The sweetest, silkiest of tannins frame the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2030. Dec 2011, www.robertparker.com