2008 Beaune Les Cras

The Chateau de Chorey 2008 Beaune Les Cras Vieilles Vignes smells of Keemun tea, burley tobacco, cherry, and red raspberry, which feature in a palate display of slightly gum-numbing tanninity and (over-14%) alcohol, underlain by rather austere chalk and stone notes typical for the site. This impressively intense, incipiently complex, and clearly unevolved Pinot should be fascinating to follow over the next 6 or more years, but watchfully. Benoit Germain did not begin picking his 2008s until September 29, “by which time,” he claims, “every other grower in Chorey was finished,” though he adds with a wry smile that “last year 2009 I was ahead of everybody.” With a little help from space heaters, all of the 2008 whites here finished their malos by early March (of 2009 that is), but timing for the reds varied widely, and in any case, Germain favors late-bottling, so that most of them were still in barrel when I tasted here in March. That the principal Germain 2007s displayed such vivacity and could hold their own against his 2008 collection surprised me, and since wines from this estate often require considerable cellaring to show their true meddle, these 2007s represent an excellent and immediately accessible introduction to the Chateau de Chorey. A Becky Wassserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70 Also imported by Simon N Cellars, Charlottesville, VA; tel. (434) 977-4476 and a Scott Levy Selection, Norcross, GA; tel. (770) 730-0361