2008 Charmes Chambertin

Peony, licorice, heliotrope, and ripe cherry rise impressively from the glass of Serafin’s 2008 Charmes-Chambertin – as tasted from cask – and inform a bittersweet palate that succeeds in containing the vintage tendency toward tartness through an incipiently silken texture and strong sense of extract. Smoky, peat-like and crushed stone suggestions add further interest to the sustained finish. I would anticipate a good 15 years of high (as well as relatively high-strung) performance here. “In two thousand eight, the grapes had too much acid,” states Christian Serafin, “and in 2009, perhaps too much sugar,” he adds with a smile. Serafin says he had to perform a more rigorous de-leafing, green harvesting and triage in 2008 than in 2007. “It’s an awkward vintage for restaurants,” he points out about 2008, “because most of them sell the wines to be drunk young, and these wines will still not be very approachable at that stage.” Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800

Good bright, full red. Rather reduced nose currently dominated by mocha and smoke; a bit less black fruit in character than the Cazetiers. Then lush, sweet and full in the mouth, with sexy smoke and mineral nuances to go with its cherry and redcurrant flavors. The deepest of these 2008s, and quite inviting today. I should note that a sample I tasted from a Taransaud barrel, which will make up a portion of the blend, was a bit less sweet and forthcoming.