From Les Echanges and small parcels in two other locations, a 2008 Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes was – like Collotte’s other wines – bottled already in November, but had finished its malo already in early spring. A fascinating nose of sour cherry, smoked meats, black pepper, and black tea lead to a bright, satisfyingly juicy mouthful of fresh red fruit, with just a hint of extraneous caramel from the wine’s portion of new wood. Firm but fine-grained and lip-smackingly lingering, this conveys an impression of extract richness, yet buoyancy, as well as an intriguing alternation of fruit brightness with dark shadings of peat and tea not uncommon for its vintage. Follow it for 6-8 years.
Philippe Collotte (for more about whom, and about his sites, consult issue 186) had a difficult 2008 vintage, with a couple of wines (including that from a small parcel of Gevrey handicapped by a big-berried clone) that I could not recommend.
Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800