Ponsot Charmes Chambertin 2007 – Vineut

Cherry, red currant and blond tobacco inform the nose and bright, firm palate of Ponsot’s 2007 Charmes-Chambertin Cuvee des Merles. Clean underlying meatiness adds depth here, although a faintly raspy streak of tannin persists in the otherwise exuberantly juicy and impressively persistent finish. It will be interesting to see whether this picks up greater complexity and/or polish with time, and I would be inclined to want to revisit it in a few years before rendering any prognostication for longer term aging. I tasted this – like his other 2007s and 2008s – in Ponsot’s company, and was thus able to assure myself that the bit of roughness was not bottle-specific.