2008 Charmes Chambertin

Boysenberry and tart-edged black raspberry represent a very different coloration of fruit in his 2008 Charmes-Chambertin from that of Vincent Geantet’s other wines of this vintage. Licorice as well as vanilla, caramel, and resin from barrel compliment the wine’s sweetness of ripe fruit, while black pepper and pungent herbs offer counterpoint and invigoration to a persistent finish. This well-concentrated, brashly-intense, conspicuously-tannic Charmes might not be all that long on its namesake virtue, but it exhibits the stamina to perform well for at least a decade, and I would be inclined to sit out the first 5-6 years in hope that more polish will emerge. Vincent Geantet bottled his 2007s and 2008s already early in the second November following their harvest, a bit sooner even than in some other recent vintages (and one reason, no doubt, why he reported his 2007s as having been entirely wiped out by the time I got around to visiting him last year). Malos are generally over by early spring in the relatively warm Geantet cellars, and even 2008 was no exception, reports Vincent’s son Fabien. Importer: Kysela Pere et Fils, Winchester, VA; tel. (540) 722-9228