2017 Francois Bertheau Chambolle Charmes

François Bertheau, who manages this 6.23 ha domaine (half of which is in villages level vineyards), said in his typically understated laconic manner that 2018 was `hot and dry though fairly easy to manage from a viticultural perspective. The fruit was very ripe and it was tricky to find the right date to pick as the sugars were climbing but we didn`t quite have the phenolic ripeness that I wanted so we waited. I am happy that we did as the tannins are phenolically mature but at the cost of alcohols that came in between 14 and 15%. As to the wines, they`re interesting in their fashion but it`s not really the style that I prefer.` Here the nose is really quite elegant with its assortment of red cherry, raspberry, lavender, violet and soft spice wisps. There is slightly better mid-palate volume to the equally caressing medium weight flavors that offer a bit more overall depth and persistence on the dusty and well-balanced if more evidently structured finish that exudes a hint of bitter cherry pit character. 91 points