2005 Gevrey Chambertin

A densely fruited nose is expressive and ripe with a pungently earthy aromatic profile that also features red berry fruits and underbrush that continue onto the mouth coating, ripe and in contrast to Dugat's comments, very pinot finish. I very much like the concentration though it will require 8 to 10 years to be at its best.

The 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin (and all of the wines that follow it in Claude Dugat’s line-up) was bottled only a week before I arrived, but any tendency these wines had to seem unyielding struck me as part and parcel of their personality and the vintage rather than a result of their recent (unfiltered) bottling. This comes from numerous parcels, most of them below the route nationale. Aromas of dried cherry and cranberry with whiffs of wood smoke and oak resin lead to a concentrated, sweet yet pithy, chewy palate of chocolate-dipped and kirsch-saturated dried cherries, with firm tannins and noticeable oak but undeniably persistent sweetness in the finish. I confess to finding this more formidable than loveable. The structure and concentration suggest at least 8-10 years aging, although I am uncertain about what will emerge as this wine’s primary sweetness recedes. Known for his low yields and intensely concentrated Pinots (all but the Bourgogne raised in new barrels), Claude Dugat – with the increasing involvement of his son Bertrand – has rendered a formidable 2005 collection that makes no concessions to early charm. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083.

Bright ruby-red. Strong black cherry and chocolate aromas complicated by a hint of game. Sweet to the verge of confectionery but not over the top. This is stuffed with fruit and offers great palate coverage for a village wine. Finishes with substantial broad, round tannins and excellent length. Very impressive village wine in the making. (Incidentally, Dugat's 2005 Bourgogne rouge is unusually dense, sappy and sweet.)