2016 Domaine Faiveley, Chambertin-Clos de Beze Grand Cru, Les Ouvrees Rodin

The 2016 Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru Les Ouvrées Rodin is showing brilliantly from bottle, unfurling in the glass with a rich bouquet of cassis, cherries, red berries, grilled game, licorice, spices and smoky new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and expansive, with a deep and intense core of sapid fruit that cloaks its satiny but abundant structuring tannins, underpinned by succulent acids and concluding with a seriously long, penetrating finish. This special cuvée hails from a parcel of vines planted in 1966 on the Chambertin side of Clos de Bèze, and its name commemorates a Faiveley family connection with the sculptor Rodin.

For reports and full tasting notes, go toTim Atkin MW's website.

This is aromatically similar to the regular cuvée save for being even spicier and displaying a bit more wood influence. There is almost painful intensity to the super-sleek big-bodied flavors that possess a positively gorgeous mouthfeel due to a mid-palate that brims with sappy dry extract that coats the mouth on the hugely long and impeccably well-balanced finale. While this may change given that these are barrel samples but based on the two that I tasted, this is actually slightly less structured though I emphasize slightly. Either way, this is a seriously impressive effort that should age effortlessly.

The Ouvrées Rodin bottling is a notable step up over the regular Clos de Bèze, with aromas of game bird and raw cocoa mingling with sapid black fruit and creamy new oak in a complex mélange. On the palate the wine is similarly proportioned but more intense, with a longer, more penetrating finish.