1999 Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses

Deep crimson still. So rich and opulent on the nose; you could really lose yourself in the bouquet. Red cherries, vigour, fresh and reverberant. Still quite youthful, but such a lovely perfume. Round with a beautiful texture and no aggressive tannins to speak of. Very long and still fruity. This wine has a long way to go still but is already giving huge pleasure. Great richness with an appetisingly dry – but not drying – finish. Bravo! (JR)

The 1999 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru from Roumier is a wine that I had never tasted before. What is remarkable is how backward it has remained, still defined by the precocity imparted by that vintage rather than the terroir, which you might argue is a negative aspect of the wine. It might be just too young. There are ebullient raspberry, wild strawberry, singed leather and sous-bois scents that burst from the glass. The palate is more complex than the 1999 Bonnes-Mares tasted alongside, the tannins suppler, a fine bead of acidity and it comes packed full of tobacco-tinged red fruit. It is an excellent Les Amoureuses even if it does lack Christophe’s finesse. It just needs another five or six years. Tasted at Tour d’Argent restaurant in Paris.

Quite intense crimson with a very thin pale rim. Intense, layered, meaty nose with some warm blueberry character. Sweet start and then quite tough. Really vigorous and still youthful but extremely promising. Very dry but not drying finish. Bit of green and needs time, I suspect. Really punchy. (JR)