(50% vendange entier ): Good deep red. Ripe aromas of small wild red fruits, mocha and brown spices, plus a note of menthol; deeper-pitched than the Haut-Doix. Then big, ripe and rich but fine-grained, with savory red fruit flavors complicated by spices and torrefaction. Finishes youthful, broad and long. Nicolas Groffier noted that his family used to vinify Sentiers for power, "like our Amoureuses," but that he has cut back on extraction. Still, this is a strong wine in 2012.

A darker side of Chambolle emerges from the 2012 Chambolle-Musigny Les Sentiers. Black cherries, plums, cloves and spices flesh out in a broad-shouldered wine endowed with richness and volume. The 2012 is a bit sauvage, some of which may come from the inclusion of 30-40% whole clusters. Next to the Hauts Doix, the Sentiers comes across as a bit rustic.

(50% vendange entier): Deep red with ruby highlights. Sexy, very ripe aromas of black raspberry, coffee, smoke, minerals and peppery spices. Sweet and densely packed, with excellent energy and lift to the raspberry, spice and mineral flavors. Strong, thick, nicely balanced wine with very good stuffing and length. The finish leaves behind intense spiciness and smoky minerality.

-- Stephen Tanzer

– vinous.com, Jan 2014