2010 Chambolle Musigny Les Lavrottes

The 2010 Chambolle-Musigny Les Lavrottes, from a parcel just below Bonnes-Mares, is striking. Clean veins of minerality support radiant, expressive dark red fruit in this focused, beautifully articulate Chambolle. This is a hugely pleasing wine that should drink well with minimum cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. Olivier Bernstein is one of the younger generation of micro-negociants who owns no vineyards, but rather sources fruit from a variety of vineyards. In just a few years Bernstein has put together an impressive collection of wines from some of the Cote d’Or’s most prestigious appellations. Bernstein describes 2010 as a vintage with a lot of millerandage (shot berries). The 2010s were vinified with 50% stems and the malos finished in July, which is fairly standard for the year. None of the 2010s had been racked at the time of my visit in late November 2011 and bottling was planned for March and April 2012. Stylistically, these are fleshy, generous wines that stand apart for their textural depth. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, imported by: Fine Vines LLC, Melrose Park. IL; tel. (708) 343-6702

A little more reserved than the Gevrey village wine. Really quite rich and concentrated – perhaps not archetypal Chambolle but lots of drama and richness. Oak a little obvious. (JR)

Full, bright, deep red. Aromas of blackberry, violet and bitter chocolate. Savory and sharply delineated if youthfully reticent, with good energy and a restrained sweetness to the black fruit and mineral flavors. Finishes firmly tannic and minerally. This is evolving very slowly.