2006 Chambolle-Musigny Village

Many food experts believe that Pierre Gagnaire is France’s most talented, inventive chef. My last visit at his Paris temple of culinary delights confirmed that the man is still on a mission.

In November, Roumier told me he prefers his 2007s to his 2006s owing to their "great mouth feel and density," but he admitted that most of his neighbors preferred 2006. In fact, pHs in 2007 are higher than those of 2006 and the wines are wonderfully fleshy and rich. They showed very well in November, even if Roumier felt that most of them were reduced or fermentative when I tasted them-or both. He started picking on September 3 and had 25% less volume than the previous year. Roumier thought the '06s were a bit thin in barrel and did not deserve a late bottling. He kept the wines on their lees as long as possible, and only racked for the bottling. Today, he notes, the wines are gaining density in the bottle and are showing more tannins than they did in barrel. "In fact, without those minerally tannins the wines might come across as a bit flabby," he concluded.

Christophe Roumier, normally tougher on his wines than his clients are, describes his 2006s as "thinner in body than the 2005s but with very fresh fruit." Strict selection needed to be done in both the vines and on the sorting table due to the rot that appeared in the plots that experienced hail, he told me. In fact, the parcels affected by hail (parts of his Chambolle village, Clos de la Bussiere and Charmes-Chambertin) may have been a bit less ripe, but "it was not a big difference." Roumier noted that grape sugars in 2006 were in the vicinity of 12.5%, which he described as good; acidity levels in the grapes were average, though there was less malic than in '07 or '04. He prefers 2006 to 2004 for its charm. "The wines are more pleasurable, while 2004 is more serious," he explained. "And there's a big difference as you go up the hierarchy of vineyards in 2006," Roumier added. "At the cru level especially, the'06s have very good ageability." Roumier's top 2005 cuvees are magical; he ranks this superb vintage with his '02s and '99s. His scarce Musigny, of which a number of his luckiest private clients could snare a bottle or two, left the cellar at 200 Euros and was spotted on the Internet in late fall at well over $5,000. His top four 2005 bottlings are all stunning.