Wine Advisor
Georges Roumier, Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras 2011
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2011 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras shows the more sensual, caressing side of the vintage in its layered contours and soft, tender personality. Today, the 2011 is voluptuous and expressive, with no hard edges and fabulous overall balance. The Cras isn't super complex, but it is incredibly delicious, even at this early stage.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru is a vintage that I have not tasted for three or four years. Quite light on the nose, it feels maybe more tertiary than I would have liked, airy, some stemminess evident with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet cherry core, redcurrant, orange rind and hints of allspice towards the finish that, to me, is beginning to show a little greenness. That said, it does cohere in the glass, and I am encouraged to raise my score over the course of an hour. Tasted blind at the Roumier Les Cras vertical at Medlar, London.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru has a similar bouquet to the one I encountered in 2014: open-knit, quiet tertiary on the nose, the fruit only gradually surfacing with aeration. The palate is built around quite firm and rigid tannin, rendering this a more masculine Les Cras with a grippy, almost Morey-like tea-leaf tinged finish. Excellent. Tasted at Maison de Colombier in Beaune.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good bright red. Exotic red berry liqueur, flowers, passion fruit and peach on the nose. Fat and sweet for this cru; softer and less refined than the 2012 version. Still, this shows better inner-mouth tension than the Combottes and finishes firmer, with chewy tannins.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright red. Captiving perfume of red cherry, raspberry and rose petal on the nose. A sweet, juicy midweight with lovely precision to its red fruit and floral flavors. Seriously structured but not hard. Finishes sappy, long and aromatic, with noteworthy purity. Classy juice.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras has blacker and earthier fruit compared to the village cru, but here there is more volume and intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, slightly grainy tannins. There is lovely balance here: a little more forward than I was expecting, but generous with impressive complexity on the finish. This forms a fine introduction to the delights of Christophe’s wines. Drink 2016-2030. Only the super-rich now have the privilege of tasting the wines of Christophe Roumier , which is a shame, and something that Christophe himself must rue. I vividly recall the moment when tasting his Musigny 2005 from barrel and he had just started receiving blank checks for any bottle he could spare. Roumier’s name was about to go from the esteemed to the iconic, with all the positives and negatives that it entails. So, whenever I have the opportunity to taste Christophe’s wines I grab it, whether it is the 2011s following our tasting of 2012s, or a super-rare bottle from the 1960s that appeared at a dinner. 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.
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