1995 Chambolle Musigny

The medium ruby Chambolle-Musigny possesses enticing and elegant scents of sweet red cherries and crisp red berry flavors combined with a lively spice. This delineated, medium-bodied wine will provide excellent drinking over the next 5 years. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy between January 7 and January 29. The wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. Pinot Noir, a fragile varietal, reacts poorly to fining, filtration, and careless bottling techniques, I recommend caution when considering buying a red burgundy based on cask samples. I called it as I tasted it, and hope the bottled wine reflects the quality of the samples I was provided. The vivacious Ghislaine Barthod makes elegant Chambolle-Musignys with a noticeable wild mushroom/earthy component that I find very attractive. Her wines age well and have good structure. Qualitatively, Barthod's premier crus do not differ that much, but the flavors and styles change with the terroir. Barthod's yields in 1995 (similar to those of other producers), were much lower than average (28-32 hectoliters/hectare versus 40 h/h). Importer: Neal Rosenthal, Select Vineyards, Shekomeko, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990.