2012 Griotte Chambertin

(just 1-1/4 barrels produced): Good bright red. Wilder and deeper on the nose than the Charmes, with a dark fruit character, an element of smoky minerality and a whiff of meaty reduction. Like liquid silk in the mouth but its compelling sweetness is perfectly counterpointed by lively, integrated acidity. This, too, is consistent from nose to long aftertaste. The fully ripe tannins are suave and sweet. A beauty in the making.

An ethereal, totally sexy wine, Dugat's 2012 Griotte-Chambertin lifts out of the glass with the most exotic, perfumed bouquet imaginable. How can I put the rest of the wine back in the barrel? It is virtually impossible. The Griotte is silky, finessed and beautifully layered in the glass. Rose petal, sweet red berries, mint and cinnamon are some of the many nuances that linger on the sublime finish. What a gorgeous wine this is. Incidentally, a recent bottle of the 2007 was spectacular.

There are just 2¼ barrels of the 2012 Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru this year, from 56-year old vines. It has a very expressive bouquet with very fine mineralite percolating through the veneer of new oak that is nicely assimilated. Returning after a couple of minutes there is a distant marine-influence developing and joining the fruit. The palate is very well balanced with filigree tannins, weightless in the mouth and yet it builds beautifully to its cashmere textured finish that is feminine and focused. This is one of the finest Griotte-Chambertins that I have encountered from Claude Dugat. Six months after tasting his 2011s, I return to Claude Dugat to taste through his 2012s that he mentioned would soon be bottled. There was no point in retreading over the travails of the growing season. Claude said that he commenced the harvest on 17 or 18 September (he could not remember exactly which) and chaptalized the wines up to about half a degree. This was a splendid array of wines. Occasionally I feel that there could be a preponderance of new oak that can submerge the terroir, but in 2012 I discerned the oak to be beautifully assimilated and indeed, this was one of the finest set of wines I have tasted at the domaine since I first visited to sample Claude’s 2005s. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, New York City; tel. (212) 239-1275.