2013 Domaine de la Vougeraie Charmes-Chambertin Les Mazoyeres Grand Cru

Healthy dark red. Superripe, liqueur-like aromas of red cherry, damp earth, tobacco and dried rose. Lush, sweet and rich but also very pure, conveying a strong impression of terroir to its powerful flavors of dark fruits, minerals, spices and Gevrey earth. Turns drier and more classic on the back end. A very dense example of Charmes-Chambertin, but then these vines are in Mazoyères. Finishes with an enticing combination of sweetness and firm minerality.

(the estate's oldest vineyard, dating back to 1902; 80% vendange entier ; 60% new oak; tasted from barrel): Healthy dark red. Black cherry and violet on the expressive nose, plus a complicating hint of musky torrefaction that carries through onto the palate. Tighter and sappier in the mouth than the nose suggests, showing a juicy quality as well as intriguing earth tones to the cherry and coffee flavors (this wine's pH is one of the lowest in the range of '13s here). Finishes very long, with harmonious tannins and stimulating stony minerality.

Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Charmes-Chambertin les Mazoyeres Grand Cru has a lighter bouquet than its peers, a little simplistic for a grand cru although it does improve in the glass, becoming savory with hints of dried blood. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannin, good weight if missing sophistication and breeding, showing a slight bitterness towards the dry finish and yet you cannot help but feel this is going to turn into a lovely Charmes-Chambertin. Maybe this is enduring a dumb phase ... you will just have to wait it out. Tasted September 2016. Nov 2016, www.robertparker.com