This gem of an Amoureuses possesses one of the most brilliant noses of the vintage with its superbly expressive, densely fruited and intensely floral aromas that feature a striking range of spice nuances and sexy black fruit. The rich, naturally sweet and imposingly dense but gorgeously refined middle weight plus flavors that deliver positively stunning length on the balanced finale. As it was when I originallly reviewed it, this is a seriously classy wine with perfect balance and awe-inspiring harmony of expression. In sum, this is a knockout that could certainly be enjoyed now but I would be inclined to wait for another 4 to 7 years first. In a word, brilliant.

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The order in which Roumier elects to pour surely reflects not just Chambolle chauvinism, but a belief in the Grand Cru quality of his 2005 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses. There are certainly indications of this in the glass, but the wine is suffering from a slight, temporary reduction. This enhances the gamey and smoky side of the nose, but there is ample concentration of black raspberry along with narcissus and iris florality as well. In the mouth, one is rewarded with prodigious, persistent, fascinatingly complex animality and floral perfume, pointed ripe-yet-tart black fruits, a fine-grained structure, and palpable mineral extract. The finish is strikingly energetic and penetrating, even though one senses a slight reductive corset on the fruit. This will certainly become a profound wine, best revisited only after a decade in bottle. 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.

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