2005 Chambolle Musigny Les Sentiers

Truchot’s 2005 Chambolle-Musigny Les Sentiers smells of fresh plum, black cherry, high-toned cherry distillate, almond extract, pungent ginger, cardamom, and raw meat. In the mouth, an infectious juiciness of fresh fruit combines with subtle creaminess of texture. Notes of tar and brown spices accent the fresh black fruits, chalky minerality and persistently bloody meat in the finish. This is classic Truchot: elegance, refinement, lift and satiny texture are allied to extract and subtle yet resilient tannins. It is bound to age longer and reveal more facets than anyone not already familiar with this estate would expect. Also recommended: 2005 Bourgogne ($20.00; 86+?). After twenty-six vintages (twenty-two of them, thankfully, having been sold in the U.S., which became his largest market), and with no heirs, 68-year-old Jacky Truchot is retiring. Even the portion of Clos Sorbe behind the hulking family manor (familiar to Burgundy lovers from the old photograph on his label) is for sale with the house. Truchot’s wines could rightly be called “old-fashioned”, which made them all the more exceptional and coveted in recent years. As Robert Parker wrote of them in these pages in 1991, “as light ... as they appear, they often possess stunning fragrances and amazing richness and character.” The expression “grown, not made” has never been truer than of these wines of a farmer bonded with his vines, and they offer terrific values. Truchot expressed relief at having bowed out on a high note and especially at having missed out on 2006! I visited on an inopportune occasion, as these wines had only been bottled that week (although as usual, without pumping or filtering), and at least in part suffered from recent sulfuring. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800.