Gambal’s 2008 Savigny-les-Beaune Vieilles Vignes – which did not finish its malo until late autumn – is deeply carnal through and through. Toasted pecan and tobacco add to its roast meat scents and flavors, and it finishes with invigorating salinity and juicy, subtly tart berry persistence complementing its impressive low tones. This fine value should prove highly satisfying for at least 6-8 years. “It was the classic ‘winemaker’s year,’ in which you had better think-through everything you do,” says Alex Gambal of 2008, adding that “it is the most challenging red wine vintage I have thus far had to make,” due inter alia to the challenge of getting his growers to postpone picking until the fruit was ripe, the attendant triage, but also of the protracted malo-lactic conversions and difficult decisions about elevage. (For more about Gambal’s history and negociant operation – weighted toward white wine – please consult my previous reports.) With the exception of his Bourgogne, all of the 2008 vintage reds I tasted here in March were in tank, and had been decanted overnight to de-gas them. Various regional U.S. importers

Bright with black cherry, earth and mineral flavors, this beefy red is concentrated and firm, with a coarse texture on the finish. Drink now through 2016. 250 cases made.??–BS??Region: France / Burgundy / Savigny-lès-Beaune Select to Add