WA97: The 2015 Chambertin-Clos de B�ze Grand Cru is spectacular, wafting from the glass with a dramatic bouquet of sweet grilled meat, red and black fruit, candied peel and rich soil. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and powerful, with a lavishly gourmand attack that evokes the 2009 rendition, but this quickly segues into the mid-palate of an altogether more tautly structural, serious wine, its considerable dimension and concentration underwritten by racy acids. The finish is long and firm. This is a monumental Clos de B�ze built for the long haul.

VM95-97: Bright, dark red. This grand cru's typical early exotic character is masked today by strong oakiness. Very large-scaled, tactile and powerful if not as sweet as usual in the early going, conveying an impression of huge extract. Wonderfully silky and thick but not yet expressive in spite of its superb energy and lift, as the wine's dark cherry, spice and game flavors are currently blocked by oak. More massive but less refined than the Chambertin, with the tannins coming across as tougher and a bit dustier today. I have no doubt that this wine is simply passing through an awkward stage, but it's hard to imagine that it will ever equal the astonishing Chambertin.