Tasted out of barrel at the Domaine. Malolactic finished on the 3rd September. The nose is more taciturn than the Cotes de Nuits, tightly coiled dark fruit. The palate is more open, wonderful sense of energy and tension as usual, a real prickle on the tongue with a similar fruit profile to the Cotes de Nuits Villages: blueberry, dark cherries and a touch of cassis. Wonderful poise and persistency on the finish. Superb. Tasted November 2009.

Bachelet’s 2008 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes is, if anything, even more vivacious and brightly fruited (like a mingling of blackberry with red currant and ripe tomato) than his two wines of lesser appellation, but here we have a paradoxical and flattering incipient creaminess (I had to de-gas a sample of this by hand to get a proper impression); a richer sense of marrowy meatiness; and prominent bittersweet herbal concentrate accompanies it all the way along, to its persistent, focused, mineral-encrusted, lip-licking finish. I would expect this to perform well for at least 10-12 years, and have happily revisited in my own cellar 1980s renditions of this cuvee at 15 and more years of bottle age. Unsurprisingly, in Bachelet’s tiny, shallow, and frigid cellar, his 2008s did not complete malo until September. They were in barrel about to be prepped for bottling, when I visited him in late February, making it the ideal time in his view for tasting them. (And Bachelet’s tiny volume makes it relatively easy to accurately approximate the final blend of any wine.) He has always been adamantly opposed to showing his wines for 18-24 months after they are bottled, insisting that in his experience they always suffer in comparison with their performance from barrel as well as with how they will taste 3-4 years after bottling. He did relent and let me taste one 2007 from bottle during my visit, and it was impressive. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet; fax 011-333-80-24-29-70

Good deep ruby-red. Pure, vibrant aromas of griotte cherry, bitter chocolate, violet and licorice. Supple, juicy and pure, with black fruit and spice flavors and very little in the way of game. Finishes firm and persistent. From the north side of the village.