2017 Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru Henri Boillot

Rich purple colour with a lighter rim. Henri Boillot's Clos de Bèze has the necessary balance, as this is both racy and with a silky texture. It is very much in a red fruit register, with a little youthful bitterness behind, then a glorious aftertaste with so much length. Tasted: November 2018.

A gorgeously spicy nose features elegant red berry, Asian-style tea and a hint of violet aromas. The succulent and seductively textured medium weight plus flavors coat the palate with plenty of sap while delivering excellent length on the strikingly long finish where the only nit is a hint of warmth. This will need a few years to develop more overall depth but this should be seriously good when it finally reaches its apogee. 95/2033+ .

There is only one barrel of the 2017 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru, a lavish, full-bodied wine with considerable concentration and rich structuring tannin, bursting with aromas and flavors of dark berries, spices, licorice, rich soil and nori. Long and serious, along with the Bonnes-Mares this Clos de Bèze appears to possess the greatest potential of Boillot's Côte de Nuits bottlings.

The 2017 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru has a slightly smudged, almost opaque bouquet that does not really articulate this particular Grand Cru. Touches of brown spice, black cherries, and later just a hint of dark chocolate. The palate is medium- bodied with chewy tannin, moderate acidity, quite assertive and unyielding at the moment with immense grip on the finish.