The 2015 Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru, which included 50% whole bunch fruit, has a refined and elegant nose, quite backward and quite Mazi-Chambertin in style. This is not as outgoing as many other Charmes-Chambertin 2015s, yet I find it more cerebral. The palate is medium-bodied with a succulent, fleshy and charming texture that seduces the senses. It does not quite deliver the depth of other grand crus on the finish, but it is endowed with presence and persistence, the whole bunch component lending another earthier, perhaps even rustic dimension compared to previous vintages. This is a very well-crafted Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru.

(40% new oak; vinified with 50% whole clusters; the preceding wines were totally destemmed, but the grapes were not crushed; Duroché has five parcels in "true" Charmes): Healthy dark red. Expressive, wild scents of blackberry, violet, licorice, leather and game. The sweetest yet of these 2015s, offering excellent texture and depth--but no heaviness--to the very pure flavors of dark berries and minerals. Fat and full but boasts lovely peppery energy from the stem component. Finishes with broad, dusty tannins and serious spine. With aeration, this wine showed a more brooding character as well a strong medicinal reserve. Duroché noted that this wine used to come across as light after his Lavaux, but this 2015 has more obvious structure than past vintages.

Rich, sweet and perfumed – a bit more sweet shop than wine somehow. Bit chewy on the end at present. Good effort, solid. (JR)