The 2018 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru soars from the glass with a rich bouquet of cassis, dark berries, baking chocolate, woodsmoke, loamy soil, licorice and grilled game. On the palate, it's full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with terrific energy and structural refinement despite the wine's texture and volume and a long, saline finish.

The 2018 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru is the most opulent of the four tasted from this vineyard, ravishing dark cherries, raspberry and cranberry scents, touches of tobacco and humidor. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, real structure and density, still quite oaky with a creamy texture though that will be subsumed with time. A serious Grand Cru that will demand several years in bottle, but mercurial and just losing some of its initial finesse with aeration. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting.

50% new oak and 50% one-year-old barrels. Barrel sample. Mid crimson. Open and scented with vanilla-laced dark-red fruits. Firm, almost chewy on the palate. Like all these Faiveley grands crus, the oak is not hidden but is swallowed by pure fruit, perfectly ripe but not overripe and with that wonderful character of purity without excess sweetness. Excellent balance between ripeness and freshness. Chewy, structured finish. Coming back to this wine after it has been open longer, there’s a floral note that is easy to miss and adds to the incipient complexity. (JH)