2005 Domaine Michel Magnien Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru

Not surprisingly, the Magnien 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers offered more refinement, and both sweeter fruit and tannin. And while certain of the Magnien wines tend toward softness and superficial sweetness, this held its shape much more impressively. PLEASE NOTE: Due to a technical difficulty, I have been regrettably unable to access my taped tasting notes on the enormous range of wines that Frederic Magnien vinifies under his own name as a negociant. Their style is very similar to that of the Michel Magnien wines. A number of his ostensibly lesser cuvees offer striking richness for their price, and a lengthy line-up of celebrated crus included numerous not surprisingly impressive – and indeed flamboyant – wines. There is among these, however, a tendency toward extraneous, toasted-oak sweetness and occasional flirtation with over-ripeness, that will not appeal to some tasters. But readers craving extroverted and sweetly-rich Pinot are going to find a lot to like at Maison Frederic Magnien. The wines Frederic Magnien makes at his family estate seem to exhibit slightly less flamboyance than many of those he vinifies as a negociant, but certainly they are formidably, at times almost overbearingly, palate-staining, with abundant underlying tannins and in most instances lavish sweet spiciness of oak. Due to a technical malfunction, my notes on several of the wines from this domaine are sadly missing. A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011-33-1-42-55-42-93.

Good full red-ruby. Reduced nose offers black cherry, mint, licorice and smoked meat. High-pitched and lively on entry, then fairly large-scaled in the middle; conveys an impression of low pH and yet this does not lack for vibrancy. Finishes long and juicy. This has a pH of 3.44 and alcohol of 13.4%.