2006 Gevrey Chambertin

The Esmonin 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin features tart sour cherry, red raspberry, and cranberry, but its stony, peaty underpinnings lend a dark shading. The tartness softens in the finish and a rich beef stock character emerges, along with a fairly obvious sense of underlying tannin. This certainly deserves to be revisited in the course of 2010 or 2011, and will tentatively be worth following for a few years thereafter. Sylvie Esmonin organized a rigorous triage of her crop in early September. Even then, she put off harvesting until almost the end of that month and had to contend with rigorous table-sorting to insure healthy fruit. Potential alcohol levels hovered around 13%, and Esmonin says she vinified to emphasize aroma and finesse, which included employing a significant portion of vendange entier. Her grandfather, Esmonin noted, spoke about the cleansing and purgative aspects of incorporating the stems precisely in a difficult vintage, and she says her own first experiment in this regard was with a Volnay in 2000, based on a spontaneous decision made in the vineyard and in recollection of her grandfather's admonition. The result, she maintains, was healthier color and fruit flavors than she would otherwise have obtained. Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334-8191