From Les Plantes, together with old vines in tiny Les Borniques (adjoining Le Musigny, and untouched by hail this year), the Lecheneaut 2006 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru smells strikingly and pungently of bitter-sweet flowers, black tea, and red fruits with a whiff of gunpowder. Fine-grained tannins and a savory underlying salinity make for a juicy and invigorating palate, and hints of spice and toast from barrel (100% new here) are nicely integrated into a long, satisfying finish. Here we have some very vintage-typical virtues and a wine that will probably be worth following for 5-7 years but is a great pleasure to drink already. Vincent and Philippe Lecheneaut report having ended up with higher potential alcohol in their 2006 fruit than in 2005 – though not, they hasten to add, equally ripe flavors – and having accordingly performed scarcely any chaptalization, so that only a few of the wines finished at over 13%. The regimen of new wood was essentially unchanged from 2005, which I think worked to the disadvantage of a number of these 2006s, wines that – while very well made, and in some instances distinguished – suffer considerably by comparison with their immediate predecessors. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083