2006 Chambolle Musigny

The Drouhin 2006 Chambolle-Musigny is based largely on contract fruit, although some estate juice is present, especially in this year of rigorous selection and assemblage. A darkly forest floor, roasted meat, bitter-sweet black fruit, clove, and pepper set of flavors renders this far more somber than I anticipated. Texturally, it is quite refined, with a hint of creaminess. Chalky and saline mineral notes and a fresh fruit skin edge lend invigoration and refreshment to a satisfyingly long finish in which the sense of darkness is subliminated, if not dissipated. There is something of a role reversal with this year's Gevrey, as the latter is more winsome and less vigorous. This could use a bit of bottle time to explore its potential synergies, but will I suspect be best enjoyed within 3-4 years. "I was skeptical when the harvest came," says Philippe Drouhin about 2006, "because the weather had been so hectic; we had to sort the grapes; and it was not as nice as '05. But the more I tasted the '06s in the course of the year, the more I liked them." Winemaker Jerome Faure-Brac says he was hyper-cautious about avoiding the extraction of bitterness or under-ripeness, and employed vendange entier (whole clusters with stems) on a significant share of the grands (and top premiers) crus, but only in conjunction with rigorous table-sorting. Most came in at 13-13.5% potential alcohol. The wines were bottled about as early as they ever have been at Drouhin, to preserve and avoid drying out the fruit. (Just as elsewhere in this report, I have frequently indicated in my tasting note whether the source of grapes is the family's domaine or contract fruit, but have not attempted to reflect this as part of the descriptions used to identify the wines.) Importer: Dreyfus-Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770