The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Village comes from around 15 parcels mostly from around the south of village and towards Brochon, the malo-lactics late and not finishing until July. It has a clean, pure bouquet with lifted cassis and raspberry fruit, touches of cold stone and a subtle marine influence. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, good depth and substance for a village cru. The wood shows just a little bit here, with a fine grip on the finish. Give this a year after bottling and you will have a dependable village cru. Six months after tasting his 2011s, I return to Claude Dugat to taste through his 2012s that he mentioned would soon be bottled. There was no point in retreading over the travails of the growing season. Claude said that he commenced the harvest on 17 or 18 September (he could not remember exactly which) and chaptalized the wines up to about half a degree. This was a splendid array of wines. Occasionally I feel that there could be a preponderance of new oak that can submerge the terroir, but in 2012 I discerned the oak to be beautifully assimilated and indeed, this was one of the finest set of wines I have tasted at the domaine since I first visited to sample Claude’s 2005s. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, New York City; tel. (212) 239-1275.