Bright medium red. Brooding but already remarkably complex aromas of redcurrant, raspberry, graphite minerality and violet are lifted by a powerful spice element. Wonderfully silky, energetic wine with almost painful intensity to its flavors of black cherry, dark raspberry and mineral salts. Chewy and rich in extract but at the same time classy and harmonious, finishing with delicate noble tannins and great subtle length.

The 2014 Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru has a sweeter and riper, if less nuanced and aristocratic bouquet than the 2014 Chambertin. This is all sweetness and light (unusually for Clos de Bèze). The palate is very refined with rounded tannin, well judged acidity and good density. This is backward, almost surly towards the finish, but there is also an attractive spicy edge that comes through on the aftertaste. It may actually need more bottle age than the Chambertin. As is becoming tradition these days, I spent two mornings at Louis Jadot on the outskirts of Beaune, one dedicated to their whites and the other their reds. Apart from enjoying the wines that I think are doing very nicely under head winemaker Frédéric Barnier, the marathon offers an overview of the Burgundy region across geography and across hierarchy. I began our conversation asking about the factors that influenced the quality of the 2014 vintage...