1996 Domaine Claude Dugat Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

I have no argument with anyone who states that this wine merits a perfect score. It is a dark ruby/purple-colored wine that regales the olfactory senses with sweet and perfumed red and black cherry scents that are lively, profound, and verging on jammy - reminiscent of the filling of a deep dish cherry pie. On the palate, this wondrous wine's combination of super-ripe candied red fruits and violets with virtually perfect precision and purity of flavors is mind-boggling. This complex, velvety-textured, chewy, and delineated wine is utterly extraordinary and other-worldly. What remains to be said about this wine crafted by the shy, self-effacing, and ever-smiling Claude Dugat? Well, it might be getting even better. While still having the opulence of fruit and suppleness that have made his wines renowned throughout the world, this wine appears to have more structure. My instincts have, in the past, been that Dugat's wines were best drunk young, but this wine displays the necessary balance between fruit, acidity, and backbone for extended cellaring. Perhaps Jean-Marc Joblot, the extremely talented Givry producer, said it best: "Claude Dugat's 1996s are the most beautiful expression of Pinot Noir I've ever had." A taster would have to be dead not to fall in love with these wines. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083.