2015 Domaine Denis Mortet, Chambertin Grand Cru

The 2015 Chambertin Grand Cru consists of three barrels this year, and is matured in 100% new oak and includes 50% whole bunch. It has a very clean and precise bouquet, more backward and broody than the Bonnes-Mares, the oak in the driving seat at the moment but with plenty of black fruit behind it. The palate is medium-bodied with smooth tannin, succulent black and red fruit with white pepper and spice box notes, a clinical thread of acidity that binds together a harmonious, almost understated finish. A case of 'less is more' here.

Good dark red-ruby color. Very ripe, almost port-like aromas of black cherry, dark berries and sweet oak convey a sexy balsamic quality. Wonderfully plush and large-scaled but with its black cherry, mocha and spice flavors displaying little in the way of easy sweetness today. Remarkably tactile, solid wine but not showing the inner-mouth tension or vibrant mineral and floral notes it displayed from barrel in the autumn of 2016. This hugely dense 2015 appears to be in the process of shutting down hard and will likely require at least as much patience as the Bonnes-Mares.