2012 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

Olivier Bernstein has made a beautiful set of 2012s, partly by not waiting too late to harvest. The wines were racked only in the course of being assembled for the bottling. Bernstein vinified with a substantial percentage of whole clusters in 2012, generally at least 50% but as high as 80% for his Bonnes-Mares. He did not feel that the wines were showing their true breadth, power or fruit when we tasted them in November but I had no complaints with the grand crus in the collection.

Olivier Bernstein recently moved into his current winery, an attractive, open, two-story, loft-like space in the center of Beaune. Bernstein's family built a successful music publishing business specializing in classical music scores. Still very well versed on the virtues of the world's top orchestras, Bernstein remains deeply influenced by music. Bernstein's passion for wine proved more interesting than a successful career in management and eventually led to a small side business selling high-end wines to collectors. From there, the next step was studying winemaking and viticulture. Since then, Bernstein has put together a remarkable micro-négociant operation that now includes a few estate vineyards, including parcels in Mazis and Champeaux. The Bernstein wines are made in a fruit-driven style that is all about texture and volume. As these notes show, Bernstein's wines are incredibly exciting. None of the 2012s had been racked at the time of my visit. I will be reporting on the 2011s in the near future. For now, let me simply add that the bottled wines can be very reduced for some time after bottling. Readers are best off cellaring young Bernstein Burgundies for at least a few years after release, and then giving them plenty of air.

Olivier Bernstein has recently started working with the national importer Wilson-Daniels in the U.S. market.He will send his 2012s Stateside first, as he considers them to be very accessible, with the 2011s following afterwards.(And the 2012s will be considerably more expensive.)Bernstein harvested on the early side in 2012, from September 19 through 25, picking fruit with potential alcohol in the 12.2% range and chaptalizing moderately (the wines will be bottled with 12.8% to 13.2% alcohol).He told me that the grape skins were actually riper in 2011 than in 2012, and compared the 2012s to the 2010s, which he said featured incomplete phenolic ripeness due to heat at the end of August.But the 2011s, he went on, are less charming, and overripeness could be a factor in the earlier vintage.Bernstein describes the 2012s as "sensual, red-fruit wines, almost suspicious in their early appeal.The color came easily in 2012, but we had to be careful with extraction to avoid throwing the wines off balance with tough tannins."He vinified with 50% whole clusters across the board because he thought the wines would be more acid than they actually turned out to be.He summarized his current view of the vintage thus:"The main question I have is how can the '12s be so well balanced so early?"