2008 Gevrey Chambertin Les Corbeaux Vieilles Vignes

Fresh blackberry, wild fennel and medicinal concentration of wormwood and other herbs scent Bachelet’s 2008 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Corbeaux, putting me in mind of Morey-St.-Denis (though Corbeaux is not located at that end of Gevrey). This is texturally even more promising and incipiently plush – for all of its brightness of fresh fruit – than was the corresponding village wine; in fact, it’s also strikingly viscous, in a way that reinforces its medicinal aura. And believe me: you are going to want to take this medicine! A range of dark forest floor and mineral shadings, notably peat and small game add further complexity to a gripping yet buoyant and refreshing finish. This dark, bittersweet ball of energy should remain successfully aloft for 12-15 years and probably not hit its optimum orbit until halfway through then. Unsurprisingly, in Bachelet’s tiny, shallow, and frigid cellar, his 2008s did not complete malo until September. They were in barrel about to be prepped for bottling, when I visited him in late February, making it the ideal time in his view for tasting them. (And Bachelet’s tiny volume makes it relatively easy to accurately approximate the final blend of any wine.) He has always been adamantly opposed to showing his wines for 18-24 months after they are bottled, insisting that in his experience they always suffer in comparison with their performance from barrel as well as with how they will taste 3-4 years after bottling. He did relent and let me taste one 2007 from bottle during my visit, and it was impressive. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet; fax 011-333-80-24-29-70

(30% new oak) Deep red-ruby. Medicinal aromas of black fruits and licorice. Dense and ripe but cool, with a distinctly masculine quality to the brooding flavors of blackberry, licorice and bitter chocolate. This very solidly built, firmly tannic and long wine will need at least five years of cellaring.

Exotic and scented. Richly perfumed and very seductive. Almost more Chambolle-like! Lovely richness and great balance. Already a pleasure even though the MLF only finished in Sep. (JR)