2008 Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses

Jadot’s 2008 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses still carried considerable residual CO2 in February, 2010 after having stretched its malo through almost the entire second half of 2009, but had shaped up nicely by April and exhibited only slight perturbation after bottling late that month. Lardiere felt the fruit here could support a substantial portion of stems and whole clusters in the fermentor, and the result displays strong notes of licorice, green herbs, and underbrush. There is a focused concentration of tart blackberry underlain by rich, saline meat stock and crushed stone, and as the wine developed (both in cask and from the open-bottle) it acquired the further complexity of tonka nut, licorice, ginger, and decadent lily perfume. This bright, elegant, yet palpable extract-rich expression of its great site should be worth following for at least 15 years. Jacques Lardiere reported that selection to remove grapes tainted with rot had to be rigorous in both 2007 and 2008, but that the task was more onerous in 2008, and especially in the Cote de Beaune. A substantial share of the triage in the Cote de Nuits, he noted, was for the sake or removing under-ripe berries, and in the end less than one degree of chaptalization took place with any Jadot 2008 or 2007 red. Given the biodynamic methods now employed here, anti-botryticides are anathema, which would, one suspects, have enhanced the challenges presented in both years, but especially in 2007. The best Jadot 2008s – many of which did not finish malo until after the 2009 harvest – possess energy and sheer refreshment, if occasionally accompanied by slightly abrasive tannins and aggressive acids. What’s more, these 2008s are for the most part (by Cote d’Or standards) value-priced. The higher-priced 2007s – about which Lardiere waxed enthusiastic early in their evolution – frequently wanted somewhat for focus; sweetness of fruit; or distinctive personalities, with the exceptions being, sadly for consumers, among the most expensive crus. While Jadot’s Cote de Beaune 2007s were harvested earlier and vinified more cautiously due to their more precarious condition than were the corresponding Cote de Nuits lots, I found worrisome astringency creeping into some of the latter, and not the sort that I expect to dissipate. Fans of Clos des Ursules who maintain a vertical collection should be aware that the team here elected to bottle the small amount of 2007 (which I did not taste) exclusively in magnum. Given the extremely reasonable pricing of Jadot wines in recent years – owned by their importer, they no doubt enjoy a unique degree of flexibility thanks to vertical integration – the many excellent Jadot 2005s (for cellaring) and 2006s that remain in the marketplace are where I would look for some of Burgundy’s best Pinot values. None of the Jadot 2008s were bottled before March, but I re-tasted some of them in late April after they had been bottled, which explains the presence of limited non-parenthetic ratings. The extent of declassification or anticipated declassification in the interest of quality in 2008 spoke volumes about Jadot’s quality-consciousness, but rendered a few of the samples I tasted – even last April –indicative of vintage quality here as a whole, rather only vaguely indicative of the wines that would eventually be bottled under a given village-designated label. For example, I tasted a village Pommard representative of an assemblage of 60 barrels, but into this Lardiere planned to blend no fewer than 20-25 barrels from assorted Pommard premier crus. There will also be a village Beaune for the U.S. market, incidentally, assembled from barrels of premier cru, but also not yet assembled when I tasted. Importer: Kobrand, Inc., New York, NY; tel.(212) 490-9300

(August malo) Good deep red-ruby. Blackberry and pepper on the energetic nose, with hints of pungent herbs and spices from whole-cluster vinification. Silky, bright and intense, with terrific sappy lift and a fine grain to the complex flavors of spices, herbs and underbrush. In a linear, rather powerful style, with the fruit currently under wraps. Long on the palate, but a tad green compared to the brilliant 2007. This will require extended cellaring. I may be underrating this.

Lardière indicated that this was vinified with 100% whole clusters. The presence of the stems is immediately obvious with the spice and intense floral elements that dominate the airy red berry fruit aromas. The detailed, intense and driving flavors possess a very different mouth feel relative to any of the prior wines, which also affects the texture of the focused and admirably lingering finish. This will not be for everyone. Allen Meadows, Burghound, Apr18,2010.