The Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru exhibits a sweeter nose (than the Chambolle-Musigny) and sweet fruit in its attack, but the structure takes over and this medium-bodied wine finishes with a Medoc-like austerity and toughness. Certainly it is well-endowed, but will enough tannin melt away for this wine to come into balance? Cellar it for 5-6 years. Lecheneaut's 1993s are well-endowed, deeply-colored wines with surprisingly tart acidity for their ripeness (the tell-tale low PHs of the vintage are clearly present), and in some cases, severe tannin levels. All of these wines were bottled unfined and unfiltered after spending 18 months in a high percentage of new oak barrels. The question marks accompanying the numerical ratings reflect my reservations due to the tart acidity and high tannin these wines possess. Many 1993s are too tannic and acidic without balancing fruit extraction or depth. There is no doubting that Lecheneaut's wines have plenty of intensity. Nevertheless, the hard tannin should make anyone approach these wines with the idea that they will need to be cellared for a minimum of 6-10 years prior to consumption. Burgundy's track record for dropping its fruit long before its tannin is enough of a reason for the question marks.
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