2001 Joseph Drouhin 'Griotte-Chambertin' Grand Cru

'The 2001 Griotte-Chambertin is developing slowly and brilliantly and clearly will be one of the reference point vintages for this cuvée in the last twenty-five years once it has reached its apogee. The bouquet is still youthful, but like the 2002, is now beginning to show its secondary elements amongst the blend of red and black cherries, espresso, a touch of grilled meats, herb tones, woodsmoke, and an excellent base of soil. With air the wine also develops lovely topnotes of fresh nutmeg and roses. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and already beautifully complex and soil-driven, with great depth at the core, impeccable balance and focus and a very, very long, palate-staining finish that closes with fine-grained tannins and bouncy acids. The acidity is a tad higher in the 2002 than the 2001, but it is really hard not to argue that this is a quintessential young expression of Drouhin Griotte-Chambertin. A great showing.' (JG - 94 points)