2018 Chambolle Musigny Les Chatelots

A ripe and well-layered nose features notes of plum and black raspberry liqueur where background hints of spice add breadth. This is unusually rich and big-bodied relative to its usual size and weight yet it retains its hallmark finesse on the seductively textured if decidedly firm finish. Lovely and understated.

Mingling notions of cherries, plums and red fruit compote with sweet soil tones and spices, the 2018 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Chatelots is medium to full-bodied, lively and precise, its bright spine of acidity and powdery tannins cloaked in an incipiently textural core of fruit. Barthod elected to include only the fruit from the domaine's old vines in this cuvée, declassifying the rest into the Chambolle-Musigny Village.

The 2018 Chambolle-Musigny Les Chatelots 1er Cru is matured in 20% new oak. It has a splendid bouquet of dark berry fruit and sous-bois aromas, plus a pinch of sage in the background. The palate is grippy and more sinewy than the Combottes, with fine salinité toward the persistent finish. It might lack a little finesse at this stage, but I suspect it will age well.