After being married for 22 years and living in rented apartments, we finally bought our own flat, to be ready in six months. To celebrate our joining mainstream Israeli concept of proper living (house, furnitures, mortgage etc.) we had a nice dinner at home tonight with another friend of ours. Two red (B) were opened along with the following dinner:

The wines we chose were Drouhin's Charmes Chambertin 1989, and my favorite - Jadot's Gevrey-Chambertin 'Les Cazetiers' 1985. Although the Cazetiers is 'only' a 1er Cru, and the Charmes is a Grand Cru, we decided to have the Charmes with the first course, both wines together with the main course, and the Cazetiers with the cheese and the desserts. As I have twice posted TNs for the Cazetiers in the past, I will not repeat myself. I will just reiterate my (our) view that this wine, especially the 1985 Jadot's effort, is on a Grand Cru level (and I don't mean just any Grand Cru).

Charmes Chambertin		1989	J. Drouhin

3/95. Acquired from Beaune Dec-94 for $37 (imported for $48 net).
Stood open to breath for about 40 minutes.
COLOR: Light pinkish red. Noticeable paling towards the rim. Not a good color, even for (B). Especially for such a young wine (the Cazetiers, four years older, looked much more dignified).
NOSE: Abundant fresh red fruit, intermingled with sweetish-soury nuances. Very good, though not dominant 'Bourgogne' nose. Wood is certainly not overwhelming.
TASTE: Charming, vibrant taste revealing layers of fruit together with very good acidity and weak, yet noticeable tannins. Very tasty, and quite complex, though not what I would describe as 'lacy' mellow (B) experience like the Cazetiers.
LENGTH: Very long clean aftertaste. The vigor of this young wine, and the relative high acidity, leaves long, lasting tinges evolving in the mouth.
BALANCE & TEXTURE: A medium bodied yet vibrant but delicate young wine. Acidity very pronounced, as well as fruit and some wood. Tannins receding already, and alcohol not particularly felt. It could use a bit more concentration, but maybe this is a fault of the vintage, not of the wine.
OVERALL: An excellent (B) that may need a few more years to integrate the different ingredients (that are all there) into a homogeneous nectar.
MARK: 17+/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Maybe.

Reach Me? yak@yakshaya.com

Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.