Rene Leclerc Gevrey-Chambertin les Champeaux Premiere Cru 2005

color is superb, bright and with good saturation yet not heavy nor matte looking. Smoky and sappy with a bit of honied sweetness. Showing some stemminess but lively with subtle cinnamon, candied floraland turf notes. Reticent warm raspberry fruit tries to work its way to the fore without initial luck. Wow this has a great attack, at first there is such a powerful wave of glycerin and fruit that one scarcely notices the superb structure with the lovely round tannins and vivid acidity that tears through the mid palate and sets up the long, lingering finish. There is a lot of smoke tinged fruit up front read more...with dark mineral and limestone notes offering contrast on the midpalate but the finish is an expose on structure, superb interplay of tannic bass notes and and the high toned dueling fiddles of acidity. Finish adds some red cherry notes with time that is really medicinal lozengy with menthol notes. And this is going to get better? Will revisit tomorrow.On day two this rounds out very well with more earth and forest elemnts on the nose. The palate is still a touch tighly wound but full of zingy, primary fruit and showing better integration of the structural elements. I like.    (hide)

November 2007

color is superb, bright and with good saturation yet not heavy nor matte looking. Smoky and sappy with a bit of honied sweetness. Showing some stemminess but lively with subtle cinnamon, candied floraland turf notes. Reticent warm raspberry fruit tries to work its way to the fore without initial luck. Wow this has a great attack, at first there is such a powerful wave of glycerin and fruit that one scarcely notices the superb structure with the lovely round tannins and vivid acidity that tears through the mid palate and sets up the long, lingering finish. There is a lot of smoke tinged fruit up front read more...with dark mineral and limestone notes offering contrast on the midpalate but the finish is an expose on structure, superb interplay of tannic bass notes and and the high toned dueling fiddles of acidity. Finish adds some red cherry notes with time that is really medicinal lozengy with menthol notes. And this is going to get better? Will revisit tomorrow. On day two this rounds out very well with more earth and forest elemnts on the nose. The palate is still a touch tighly wound but full of zingy, primary fruit and showing better integration of the structural elements. I like.    (hide)

September 2008