2010 Mazoyeres Chambertin

100% new oak. 100% whole bunch. Not yet racked. Very rich and great masculine stuff. So much here! Very firm and yet so packed with fruit that it seems deceptively accessible at first. Definitely worth waiting for. Very positive and straightforward. Bitter chocolate and minerals. This is the masculine cuvée, if Charmes is the feminine one. (JR)

(tasted at the end of its malolactic fermentation, not yet racked; 80% vendange entier ): Ruby-red color. Pungent aromas of blackberry, violet and crushed-stone minerality, with coffee and game nuances emerging with air. Dense, saline and youthfully imploded, with a powerful chalky minerality currently dominating the middle palate. Finishes with outstanding salty persistence and excellent cut.

The 2010 Mazoyeres-Chambertin explodes from the glass with tons of mineral-driven energy and vibrancy. It is a striking wine layered with saline notes that wrap around the red fruit with tons of intensity, conveying a sense of urgency that is thrilling. Bright red berries, flowers, mint and licorice saturate the palate on the piercing finish. The use of 100% whole clusters gives the wine much of its aromatic brilliance and delineation. This is another 2010 that is clearly built for the long haul as evidenced by the huge tannic finish. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2045. Bernard Dugat began picking on September 21. The harvest took place over 6 days and yields came in at less than 25 hectoliters per hectare. Dugat told me that worked out to about 105 barrels for 10.5 hectares of vineyards! The malos proceeded at a very slow pace and the wines weren’t racked until September, except for the Mazoyeres, which had not yet been racked at the time of my November visit. Most of the wines were made with a high percentage of stems, as noted below. Importer: The Sorting Table, LLC, 1700 Second Street Suite 380 Napa, CA 94559 ; tel: 707-603-1466