The word that comes to mind as you sip Antonin Guyon's 2002 Gevrey-Chambertin ** is searing. This wine did not always require food to balance out; it was gorgeous by itself after release. I found this bottle in the basement refrigerator recently, shortly after I had purchased its younger sibling, the 2005 ****, for which there are no words to adequately describe, but I digress.The 2002 Gevrey-Chambertin ** has evolved into a puckering villages level Burgundy, with piquant cherry notes and a texture like sharp stones. It dashes the pallate with roiling intensity and demands attention. It's no cheap thrill, but it lacks the density and complexity of, say, Jean Grivot's Clos Vougeout, one of the only grand crus I have cellared from this vintage. Tasted most recently in the early fall of 2007, this was not the same wine. The potential intensity was evident, but not the spice, and not the sharpness.
By comparison, Antonin Guyon's 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin **** is plush and dense, but it suggests that roaring acidity just beneath the surface. As these Burgindies age, and their fruit fades, what remains is that intense, puckering texture of crushed velvet. I can't image the 2005 will ever taste better than it does today, shortly after release, so this is a wine to find and enjoy now. But if you want to know how very good village level Burgundy tastes after six-ten years, this is a candidate to lay down in the cellar.
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