The 2011 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras shows the more sensual, caressing side of the vintage in its layered contours and soft, tender personality. Today, the 2011 is voluptuous and expressive, with no hard edges and fabulous overall balance. The Cras isn't super complex, but it is incredibly delicious, even at this early stage.

Bright red. Captiving perfume of red cherry, raspberry and rose petal on the nose. A sweet, juicy midweight with lovely precision to its red fruit and floral flavors. Seriously structured but not hard. Finishes sappy, long and aromatic, with noteworthy purity. Classy juice.

The 2011 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru is a vintage that I have not tasted for three or four years. Quite light on the nose, it feels maybe more tertiary than I would have liked, airy, some stemminess evident with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet cherry core, redcurrant, orange rind and hints of allspice towards the finish that, to me, is beginning to show a little greenness. That said, it does cohere in the glass, and I am encouraged to raise my score over the course of an hour. Tasted blind at the Roumier Les Cras vertical at Medlar, London.

Outstanding. A gorgeously perfumed and intensely floral-suffused nose evidences hints of stone, red berries, anise and a bit of earth. There is really lovely detail and intensity to the precise, dusty and tension-filled medium-bodied flavors that exude a fine minerality on the mouth coating, linear, mildly austere and highly persistent finish where a saline nuance appears. This is quite good. Drink: 2021+
-Burghound.com Tasted: Jan 15, 2014