2008 Philippe Pacalet Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

The Pacalet 2008 Charmes-Chambertin (in fact largely from Mazoyeres) offers a high-toned, suggestively sweet nose of candied cherry, almond and pistachio extracts, along with heady, heliotrope and gardenia perfume. As this opens, a Chartreuse-like sense of high-toned herbal essences emerges as well, and on a delicate, silken-textured palate, savory suggestions of browned butter and caramel complement the wine’s bright fruit and alluring florality. I find less length and certainly less sense of minerality than in the corresponding Lavaux, but this had been bottled only a week before I tasted it. It will prove worth following for the better part of a decade. Philippe Pacalet (for further details on whose unorthodox methods, readers are encouraged to consult my report in issue 171) held fast in the 2007 and 2008 vintages to his habits of rejecting sorting tables (selection the pickers’ responsibility, and a heavy one in these instances); fermenting with stems and whole clusters (without doubt contributory to the floral dimension most Pacalet wines share); and adding little or no sulfur during the elevage. Malo-lactic conversion in both vintages proceeded according to his usual schedule (over by early Spring), a contrast in 2008 with most of his fellow Burgundian vignerons that he insists is partly due to those low sulfur levels. Pacalet considers his 2008s – which are notably light in color, and which he compares with 2001s – very much for cellaring, though I found them enormously appealing already. Few exceed 12.5% finished alcohol, and all were bottled between December and February. (Regrettably, I was not able to taste any of the 2007s – nor, indeed, all of the 2008s – from this address.) As always, it bears mentioning that due to their low-sulfur as well as unfiltered nature, Pacalet wines should only be cellared by those who can do so in ideal conditions. Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334 8191

(two-thirds Mazoyeres) Bright medium red. Red fruits, flowers and a saline nuance on the nose, along with a whiff of caramel oak. Silky, sweet and fine-grained, with lightly saline flavors of red raspberry, flowers and spices. A sexy and stylish wine with lovely floral persistence.