2008 Latricières-Chambertin, Grand Cru, Camille Giroud, Burgundy

Dark red. Nose dominated by crushed rock. It is not silky or sweet like the Charmes, but it is juicy, serious, pure, and imploded, conveying a strong impression of dry extract and an excellent definition. The fresh fruit component is very much in the background. It is much drier in style, but the firm tannins are nonetheless rather suave. Promising but unevolved.

A deft touch of wood allows the pretty and quite cool aromas of wet stone, red currant and plum aromas to shine as they precede the supple and equally mineral-driven flavours that possess excellent depth and fine balance on the firm, understated and classy finish.

Drink from 2018 onward

As usual, from a combination of contract grapes and purchased wine with the same sources here since 2003), the Camille Giroud 2008 Latricieres-Chambertin presents peat and black pepper, crushed stone, and ripe, lightly-cooked cherry in a lovely nose, rich yet tart palate impression, with a pungently smoky, peppery, and stony finish. It lacks the Charmes’s sweetness and charm, but its formidable density and grip, backed by abundant fine-grained tannin, suggests a wine worth forgetting in the cellar for a few years and should hold up well for 12-15 years.

Drink 2010 - 2025

Pale to medium intensity slowly maturing red. The bouquet is very pretty, also showing some graceful evolution. The fruit is very attractive, the right side of vegetal, complex, still no more than middleweight but with the intensity of Grand Cru.