Domaine Trapet Pere et Fils Chambertin Grand Cru 2012 750ml Case of 6

This is ultra-cool and restrained aromatically with its airy and even elegant aromas of intensely floral, spicy and stony wild dark berry scents that are also trimmed in just enough wood to warrant commenting on. There is a gorgeous texture to the equally mineral-inflected and muscular broad-shouldered and impressively concentrated flavors that possess a Zen-like harmony on the impeccably well-balanced, moderately austere and hugely long finish. This should be genuinely wonderful if given at least a decade's snooze in a cool cellar. I should also note that by the standards of this wine the 2012 version is not super-powerful but I very much like the sense of harmony.

Moderately saturated medium red. Aromas of wild dark berries, black cherry, menthol and flinty minerals. Almost shockingly sweet on entry, then pure, intense and delineated in the middle palate, even a bit imploded today, showing a near-perfect balance of sweetness, acidity and minerality. As much black as red fruit in character, with a hint of bitter chocolate carrying through from entry to aftertaste. Has the pl of a fully ripe year, but finishes juicy, vibrant and very long, with a powerful spine of refined tannins and terrific grip without hardness. This still needs more time in bottle to blossom and expand. The yield here was just 26 hectoliters per hectare and it shows. (As further evidence of the consistently high quality of Trapet's Chambertin in recent years, my final in-the-bottle scores of the '13, '14 and '15 on Vinous were 91+, 94+ and 96, respectively.) (12.9% alcohol; 3.52 pH; 3.9 grams per liter total acidity expressed as sulfuric; harvested on September 23 "under a radiant sky," according to Trapet; vinified with about 50% whole clusters)

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Chambertin Grand Cru from Domaine J-L Trapet has a very perfumed, mint-tinged bouquet with desiccated orange peel infusing the slightly oxidised maraschino and strawberry fruit. It is very contained - never fully lets go. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, very supple tannin, plenty of juicy red cherry fruit, but feels a tad flat-footed towards the finish. It does not quite possess the chutzpah of its peers at the moment, though Trapet's Chambertin consistently repays cellaring.

From two parcels of vines approximately 40 years old and a third that was originally planted in 1919.