2017 Chapelle Chambertin

Restrained and distinctly cool aromas only reluctantly reveal deeply pitched nuances of spiced plum, freshly turned earth and a whiff of black cherry. The beautifully sleek, intense and mineral-inflected large-scaled flavors evidence obvious muscularity as well as excellent length on the very firmly structured and youthfully austere finish. This is classic Chapelle from En Gémeaux.

The 2017 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru is deeper pitched and more brooding than the Charmes, offering up aromas of cassis, dark chocolate, plums and rich loamy soil. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, velvety and firmer framed, with chalky structuring tannins and tangy acids, concluding with a long, sapid finish. Dugat's vines are in Les Gémeaux, adjacent to Cécile Tremblay's, a site that tends to produce somewhat more structured wines than La Chapelle.

The 2017 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru has a broody, introspective bouquet that has a little more horsepower compared to the Charmes-Chambertin, plus the fruit is slightly darker. The palate is well balanced, absorbing the new oak with style, quite dense and muscular towards the finish but retaining a sense of elegance and poise. I would give this several years in bottle but it already suggests to be the Grand Cru that might have the most longevity from the domaine. (NM)