Wine Advisor
Georges Roumier, Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Cras 2017
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru has a dreamy bouquet that gushes with brambly red berry fruit, redcurrant, cranberry and, to be exact, Tiptree “Little Scarlet” strawberry jam, all beautifully defined. The palate is plush, velvety smooth, very refined with pitch perfect acidity. This Les Cras displays admirable depth, moving into more red Morello cherry and light allspice notes towards the delicate and yet persistent finish. Iron fist/velvety glove and all that... This is a brilliant Chambolle-Musigny from Christophe Roumier and it soared even higher the following day, gaining more nuance and filling out further on the finish.
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.
