2012 Chambolle Musigny

Red-ruby. Open-knit nose offers black raspberry, cocoa powder, licorice and leather. Soft and a bit diffuse in the mouth, displaying a slightly medicinal quality combined with an impression of low acidity. I find this a bit hollow in the middle, with the tannins betraying a dry edge.

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny Village comes from three parcels that are vinified together, from lieux-dits “Derriere la Four”, “Les Pas de Chats” and “Les Condemennes” (1.15-hectares). The bouquet is ripe and quite showy at this stage, with bright blackcurrant and cassis fruit neatly layered with the oak. The palate is medium-bodied with a ripe, chocolate-tinged entry, a fine bead of acidity and a nicely counterpoised, slightly austere finish. The oak will need a couple of years after bottling to fully integrate but it should be worth the wait. My final visit of the day was to Domaine Jean-Jacques Confuron, just up the Route Nationale from Domaine de l’Arlot in Premeaux-Prissey. It took me a while to engineer the car into the courtyard since a man-eating hound refused to budge out of the way of the vehicle. It would probably not go down well with winemaker, Alain Meunier, had I run the mutt over. Alain’s father-in-law was Jean-Jacques Confuron, a quietly spoken gentleman who has done much to make this one of the most sought after domaines in Nuits Saint Georges. The domaine includes 8.5-hectares of vines in the Cote de Nuits that have been farmed organically since 1989, the portfolio crowned by a parcel in Romanee-Saint-Vivant, a thin but precious strip to the north of the climat, sandwiched between Alain Hudelot-Noellat and Lalou Bize-Leroy. Though usually most of the fruit is de-stemmed, Alain told me that this year the premier and grand crus include 20% whole clusters. The use of new oak here is quite pronounced relative to others: 30% for the village crus, between 40% and 50% for the premier crus and over 60% for the grand crus, but I did not find it excessive and it was beautifully knitted into the fabric of these 2012s, especially his sumptuous grand crus that should easily age over 20 or 30 years. I look forward to visiting once again - mindful of not running over the dog of course. Importer: J.A.O. Wine Importers, 1507 Hampton Hill Circle, McLean (VA) Tel 1 703 628 9615. Also available in UK at Enotria Winecellars Lts. and Ballantynes of Cowbridge.

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny Village comes from three parcels that are vinified together, from lieux-dits “Derriere la Four”, “Les Pas de Chats” and “Les Condemennes” (1.15-hectares). The bouquet is ripe and quite showy at this stage, with bright blackcurrant and cassis fruit neatly layered with the oak. The palate is medium-bodied with a ripe, chocolate-tinged entry, a fine bead of acidity and a nicely counterpoised, slightly austere finish. The oak will need a couple of years after bottling to fully integrate but it should be worth the wait. Dec 2013, www.robertparker.com