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Tasting notes

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2010 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras comes across as delicate and finely knit in this vintage. The hard, firm tannins that are at times present are nowhere to be found. A beautifully expressive, knock-out bouquet melds into a finely knit fabric of red berries. The tannins feel like satin on the caressing finish. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2030. The only real problem with Christophe Roumier’s 2010s is the production, which was severely compromised by the December 2009 frost and the poor weather of 2010, especially during the flowering. On a more positive note, the wines are marked by their total transparency. Some of the entry-level wines are a bit on the light side, but the best 1er Crus and the Grand Crus are magical. Roumier started picking on September 28. Some of the wines were lightly chaptalized. I will report on the 2009s in our April issue. Importer: Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, Napa CA; tel. (707) 299-2600
About the Producer
The domaine was founded in 1924 by Georges Roumier, who began domaine bottling in 1945. He was succeeded in 1957 by his son Jean-Marie and now grandson Christophe, who joined his father in 1982 and took over completely in 1992. Most of the wines are rented (en fermage) from family members although Ruchottes Chambertin is held on a share cropping deal with an external proprietor, Michel Bonnefond. The wines are seductively fruity in their youth yet with excellent ageing potential. The grapes are sorted in the vineyard, with a table de tri at the winery since 2003. They are mostly destemmed, albeit depending on vineyard and vintage, with a few more stems being used recently – then placed in wooden fermenters. The juice is given a cool soak at 15° then allowed to start naturally. The juice is punched down twice a day and temperature controlled so as not to exceed 32°C. There is no great reliance on new wood in the maturation cellar, with 15-25% being used for village wines, 25-40% for premiers crus and no more than 50% for Bonnes Mares. In recent years Christophe has been searching for, and achieving, a greater sense of precision in his wines.