On Christmas Day we broke out the good stuff—a recently purchased bottle of 2000 Charlopin-Parizat Chambertin. Normally I might not post a single note on my blog, since one would think such things are best left to the Bulletin Boards. But 69 views on the erobertParker (Squires) Board? That just doesn’t do justice to this wine.
Man, when a Chambertin is on, it's hard to resist its charms. Even Old Man Scrooge could not fail to be swayed by this one. I substituted 2000 Charlopin-Parizat Chambertin at the last minute for a bottle of 1983 Pousse d'Or Bousse d'Or, which showed in the wine store's inventory list but could not be found. This bright ruby red wine showed an explosive nose on first pour after about 1 hour in the decanter. Cascading red raspberry (although my co-taster claimed to detect some darker fruit elements) infused by forest floor/underbrush and notes of caramel, soy and mushrooms, it was as if we had landed in the middle of a raspberry patch (minus the thorns). Interestingly, this one seemed to close down in the glass after this, as if we had scraped the cream off the top of an otherwise thinner drink, but then it came roaring back after about another 1/2 hour. The tannins dominating the finish for that short period gradually faded, or were simply swamped by the burgeoning of the ripe fruit, which provided a sappy but clean mouthfeel. But it was still the nose that was star of the evening, with a real weight and density to the point where we were able to inhale the aromas from the glass for a good five minutes after the last drops of wine were drained.
This wine was interesting for what it showed of the Chambertin character, even in a somewhat difficult year like 2000 where the expression of terroir has been questioned. Certainly this wine showed some of the characteristics of the 2000, with its easy going style and its lack of intricate detail and minerality. Within the limits of the difficult 2000 vintage in Burgundy, however, this still screamed Chambertin to me, especially that profusion of red fruit mixed with brambly underbrush and mushroom notes. While there are certainly some vintages where terroir differences are at a maximum, this isn’t to say to say they can’t be discerned in the “lesser” vintages.
