Racked just the day before, the nose is quite tight and muted, although there are scents of minerals, stoned, wild strawberry and a touch of violet. A little malic acid in there? The medium-bodied palate exhibits filigree tannins, a bit “pointed” at the moment but a symmetrical, chalky/minerally finish. This is all about natural balance than complexity. Very fine. Drinking 2008-2012. Tasted January 2007.

Good medium red. Dark raspberry, coffee and spicy oak on the nose; this wine's flamboyant ripeness almost came as a shock following the more reticent 2006s. Big, round, plush and ripe, with spicy dark raspberry and chocolate flavors and considerable density for village wine. Quite smooth and harmonious at the moment: Roumier volunteered that this is not as closed yet as he expected it would be.

Wine Advocate April, 2007 From young vines in a tiny cru due east of the village which he vinified separately for the first time this year, Roumier’s fewer than hundred cases worth of 2005 Chambolle-Musigny Les Combottes displays aromas of tart sour cherry, high-toned herbal essences, flowers, and a gamey, slightly reduced note. Bright and penetrating, but with strong primary sweetness of fruit, and a silky texture building as it parts with its trapped CO2, it incorporates subtle fresh meatiness, distinctly chalky minerality, and low-toned, slightly bitter fruit skin into a strong finish. Robert Parker''s Wine Advocate 30/04/2007 The 2005 Chambolle-Musigny – around two-thirds of it coming from old vines in high-elevation sites – offers high-toned cherry and citrus rind aromas along with pungent, musky florality. Bright cherry fruit, undertones of roast beef, and persistent inner-mouth florality lead into a refined, long, attractively lean finish, revealing abundant but sophisticated tannins that will help justify at least 3-5 years in the cellar. Given the performance of the Bourgogne, I suspect that this wine by contrast was suffering a bit of bottle shock. One senses that Christophe Roumier considers 2005 a high point of his career, and my visit with him was among the high points of my recent trip. He describes this as “a classic vintage lending itself to very calm, classic vinification,” which given the opportunities afforded by perfectly healthy, firm, dry, ripe fruit involved triage almost solely to remove ladybugs, and included around 25% whole clusters in the fermenters at the Premier Cru level and 50% at that of Grand Cru. Tasting note: Deep ruby. A pretty and very high-toned nose features a beguiling mix of red and black berry fruit and hints of underbrush and spice that introduce rich, precise and wonderfully fresh flavors that display a mineral streak on the energetic and persistent finish. A very attractive villages and worth a look plus it should deliver 5 to 7 years of upside development. (89) (89+?)

Very clean and fruity on the nose. Not quite as pure as Mugnier’s village Chambolle. Very easy, soft and forward – easier to drink at this point. Relatively simple frank bitter cherry flavours. Very direct. (JR)