2016 Domaine Arlaud Père & Fils Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

Bright red. Aromas of strawberry, cherry and rose petal are a bit muted by musky leathery reduction; showed some darker fruit character as it opened in the glass. Offers an attractive balance between thickness and energy but quite backward today and distinctly more clenched than the Aux Combottes. Finishes with good verve and thrust, and a hint of bloody steak, but not quite the class of a great Charmes. Arlaud's vines are actually located in the top part of Mazoyères, just under Latricières. They range from 25 to 70 years of age, but he often declassifies most of the younger vines into his Gevrey villages , as he did in 2016. He noted that the young vines produced nicely concentrated grapes in '16 but they were picked near the beginning of the harvest and lacked the density of the older vines.

The 2016 Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru includes 25% whole bunch fruit and is matured in 20% new oak. Cyprien said that the frost affected the old vines in this season. This felt very closed on the nose and unresponsive when given rigorous aeration. The palate has a dense, quite muscular opening, certainly Mazoyères in terms of weight and structure, with a finish that is like a teenager sulking in their bedroom. Yet you know they will come downstairs eventually, in this case, probably in around six to eight years' time. If only all sulky teenagers were like that.