The 2016 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru les Amoureuses has a very detailed and refined bouquet with beautiful dark cherry, black plum and violet aromas. The palate is smooth and sensual with well-judged acidity, quite dense with more black than red fruit, dovetailing into a slightly confit-like finish that lingers in the mouth. I would have just liked a little more precision right on the finish but otherwise, excellent.

The 2014 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru les Amoureuses has a detailed bouquet, more black fruit than red, slightly “contained” for an Amoureuses and yet it opens in the glass. The palate is sweet on the entry with opulent rich fruit, quite powerful and assertive but needing to show a little more precision on the finish. Perhaps it just needs time, perhaps even more considering it will only be bottled in magnum.

The 2013 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru les Amoureuses has a very elegant bouquet, very pure with dark cherries, crushed violets and minerals. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, crisp acidity and tightly wound on the more masculine finish that I was expecting. Good density here, a little muscular perhaps, I would afford this several years in bottle.

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses has a complex, broody bouquet that takes time to open in the glass, reluctantly revealing scents of bergamot and forest floor, more introspective than Frederic Mugnier’s tasted the previous day. The palate is medium-bodied with a succulent, primal entry. It has lightness and an airiness about it that is very appealing, although I would like to see more presence and gravitas toward the finish. There is good tension throughout but it needs a little more...sexiness! There is one vigneron pleased about the late running of the 2013 harvest more than any other – Benjamin Leroux. “I had my third baby two weeks ago,” he reveals, though he looks in unnaturally fine fettle given the sleepless nights he must surely be enduring. I met Benjamin at his winery located just off the Beaune ring road opposite Albert Bichot and Domaine des Croix. Here he vinifies all his negociant wines that are labeled under his name, and when he is not there, you will probably find him down in Domaine Comte Armand, where he has been responsible for recent vintages. He shares the facility with Nicolas Rossignol, whose wines I tasted directly afterwards. Those wishing to glean more information on Leroux’s background should peruse the article I wrote in the August issue of The Wine Advocate concerning Clos des Epeneaux. He told me that he will bottle his 2012s relatively early this year and, in fact, several were already under cork. Like practically everyone, his crops are depleted in 2012 depending upon the area, up to 80% in the worst affected by frost and hail. The samples that I tasted were either in bottle (wines with single figure scores) or in barrel just after malo-lactic but before racking (given by banded scores). Generally, these constituted an outstanding set of wines, albeit often in miniscule quantities, which is why some of the cuvees are exclusive to certain markets (for example, you will have to go to Hong Kong to find his elusive Clos Saint Denis.) While the grand crus could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with many growers, readers should check out some of his over-performing Village and Premier Crus, particularly the former that were bolstered by the blending of the latter due to depletion of crop. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (Le Serbet) and through various US importers (see www.leserbet.com for full list.)