The 2008 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras is a prototypical wine for the year. Cool, inward and tense, it shows superb precision in its dark fruit, spices, menthol and tar. The wine literally wraps around the palate with serious intensity and a beguiling personality that is impossible to resist. The finish is pointed and flat-out beautiful. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2028. There is no better place to learn about the subtleties of Chambolle than in the cellars of Ghislaine Barthod. With one Bourgogne and nine Chambolles, including eight 1er Crus, Barthod’s wines run the gamut from the delicate to the virile, all within the confines of this tiny village. Every wine I tasted during my recent visit was impeccable. I can’t recommend the wines of this small, family-run domaine highly enough. Barthod was the first grower to pick in Chambolle. She started on September 8 with the goal of trying to maintain as much freshness as possible. The wines came in with around 13% natural alcohol. The fruit was 100% destemmed. I also tasted a handful of 2008s, a vintage defined by striking aromatics and plenty of energy. The fruit was harvested much later than in 2009, beginning on September 26 and finishing on October 4. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990