2016 Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux

(from a .53 ha parcel). Reduction. The racy, intense and patently mineral-driven flavors are stony to the point that they are akin to rolling small pebbles around in your mouth, all wrapped in a balanced, youthfully austere and overtly saline finish. This is a classic Latricières of grace, lace and taut muscularity. (91-94)/2028+

A cool, pure and airy nose of essence of wild red berries isn't as spicy but it's even more floral- inflected. The racy, intense and patently mineral-driven flavors are stony to the point that they are akin to rolling small pebbles around in your mouth, all wrapped in a balanced, youthfully austere and overtly saline finish. This is a classic Latricières of grace allied with a taut muscularity. 2033+

Lachaux lost half of his crop in this vineyard to frost, but the 2016 Echezeaux Grand Cru is superb, offering up a deep bouquet of wild berries, orange rind and mossy soil. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and expansive, with a firm, tight-knit core, excellent concentration and a rich chassis of structuring tannin, underpinned by vibrant acids. This will need and reward time but it's one of the finest renditions of this site to date from Charles Lachaux. 2026 - 2050.

(Lachaux made just three barrels from 0.5 hectare, or about 14 hectoliters per hectare; 100% vendange entier): Healthy bright red. Mellow, subtly complex aromas of plum, redcurrant, raspberry and smoke. A fleshy, glyceral style in the context of this group of '16s but classically dry and remarkably airy too, with its red fruit flavors lifted by mineral and minty nuances. A serious, rather backward style of 2016, finishing with fine-grained tannins and noteworthy finesse.

The 2016 Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru, from a parcel purchased in 2008 with an average vine age of 96 years, has a wonderful, expressive bouquet with blackberry, raspberry, freshly rolled tobacco and just a hint of truffle. The palate is underpinned by very fine tannin, quite edgy and full of tension, potent sous-bois notes towards the animated finish. You can feel the wake of this wine 60 seconds after. Perhaps this is even better than the Romanée-Saint-Vivant?