2015 Domaine Bruno Clair, Chambertin-Clos de Beze Grand Cru

Bruno Clair's 2015 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru was showing very well, wafting from the glass with a classy bouquet of ripe cherries and dried flowers, complemented by sapid, savory nuances of soy and smoked duck. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, supple and satiny, with a deceptively open-knit, succulent profile that I suspect is more a function of the wine's structural finesse than it is any lack of seriousness. This is an elegant, classically balanced Clos de Bèze that may well prove to be a sleeper of the vintage.

The 2015 Chambertin Clos-de-Beze Grand Cru has another very well-defined bouquet with tightly wound red berry fruit, crushed rose petals and subtle sous-bois aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, quite understated in style after the Clos Saint-Jacques with slightly savory red fruit towards the grainy-textured finish. The persistence is impressive, although I cannot help feeling that the Clos Saint-Jacques has the sophistication, the breeding, the je ne sais quoi.