This seems to have changed very little in the past 10 years and it would be fair to describe its evolution as glacial as the ripe but exuberantly fresh nose is even spicier than that of the '05 Chambertin (see herein) with kaleidoscopic breadth and depth. Like its stablemate this is a big and imposingly-scaled effort that possesses outstanding mid-palate concentration as the tannin-buffering sap completely coats the mouth on the explosively long, muscular and powerful finale. Despite the strikingly good size, weight and punch this remains a beautifully well-balanced effort that will need at least another 10 years of cellar time because even though it's not quite as structured and backward as the Cham, it is nowhere close to being ready for prime time. That said, it should be genuinely breathtaking when it finally arrives at its apogee. Tasted twice in the last year with consistent results. - BH
BH98June 2015
Like the Clos St. Jacques, the 2005 Clos de Bèze offers up amazing youthful complexity, but in this case that same complexity is tied to a wine that is emphatically young and almost primary. I can only imagine how complex this wine will become as it has a chance to grow with bottle age. The celestial bouquet erupts from the glass in a blaze of black cherries, plums, candied strawberries, cocoa, citrus peel, exotic spices, a kaleidoscope of minerality, vanillin oak and a rose garden in the upper register. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and utterly complete, with a bottomless core, stunning intensity of flavor without undue weight, zesty acidity, fine-grained tannins, and an exquisitely long, complex and palate-staining finish. Like bottled spring in Paris. - JG
JG98November 2006