OK, I’ll take a stab at the Gervrey Chambertin Questionnaire:
What do you think are the essential characteristics of Gevrey Chambertin Wine?
Full, solid, rich, masculine, earthy, often with iron nuance.
What do you think are some misconceptions regarding the essential characteristics of Gevrey Chambertin Wine?
That it cannot be elegant and nuanced because of the masculine character.
Who do you think are the top producers of Gevery Chambertin wines? (they dont have to live there)
Rousseau and Fourrier. Then Dujac, Ponsot, Bruno Clair, Bachelet. Among the large negociant/domaines: Jadot followed by Bouchard P+F and Faiveley.
Who do you think are some under-the-radar producers that make Gevery Chambertin wine? (they dont have to live there)
Drouhin-Laroze, Damoy, Sylvie Esmonin, Maison Ilan
What vineyards do you think are overrated?
Mazoyeres-Chambertin (which undermines the reputation of Charmes-Chambertin), Chappelle-Chambertin.
What vineyards do you think are underrated?
Clos Saint-Jacques.
What is your most memorable Gevrey Chambertin wine experience?
Paris, 1982, the rest is confidential
What other village do you think is most similar in style to the wines of Gevrey Chambertin?
You’re kidding, right? OK, Pauillac. Or Tain l’Hermitage.
Any other thoughts or insights about this village you would want to share?
Gevrey-Chambertin is a fertile hunting ground for adventure and for value among the 1er crus, and I’m thinking here not of the “elite 1er crus” that are rightly famous and more costly, but the 20 or more “other 1er crus”.
Who do you think are the top producers of Gevery Chambertin wines? (they dont have to live there)
Based on my personal experience Rousseau for his big 3 only.
For the price in Quebec, Canada, Chambertin by R-Trapet.
Any other thoughts or insights about this village you would want to share?
Gevrey-Chambertin is a fertile hunting ground for adventure and for value among the 1er crus, and I’m thinking here not of the “elite 1er crus” that are rightly famous and more costly, but the 20 or more “other 1er crus”
Drank over several hours. Good to go from the first sip. Starts with mostly an expression of dark Pinot fruits with a good acidic spine. Develops iron and blood notes with the fruit now providing more frame than canvas. That fruit more red cherry in character now. Very nice finish with a persistent power. Interestingly precocious as it is very rounded and polished.
Sometimes one reaches to find expression like Gevrey in a young wine, but I don’t think it is the case here as this wine has entered its ‘correct’ drinking window well ahead of what I would expect.
I greatly enjoyed a bottle of this with jugged hare a few months ago. I’m not sure that the wine is in its correct drinking window-I dispute that such a thing exists-but it was very well matched with the hare in its robustness and showed that curious phenomenon whereby these wines can seem quite new oaky when young when they are no such thing, a reduction manifestation, I am informed.
While I have never heard of this before, it sounds like the perfect burgundy foil(G-C particularly with all the blood etc). I am going to figure out a way to try this. Thank you Tom and wikipedia.
2003 Domaine St. Martin Chambertin-Clos de Bèze- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru (2/22/2011)
Never heard of this producer nor do I know how I acquired this bottle, so given that I have only one I thought it represented a good chance to check in on 2003 at the high end. It is unmistakably 2003, but avoids the pitfalls of the vintage. Asian spice and a bit of baked cherry pie on the nose leads to ripe fruit, iron, and coffee on the attack. It’s almost too ripe, but quickly pulls back into a full and smooth midpalate and finish. Yum. (93 pts.)
2002 Lecheneaut Gevery Chambertin
Youthful red, with smoked meat, cherries, coffee and iron on the nose. Cherry fruit and minerals on the palate. Finishes with more of the same, nice acidity and a bit of tannin. Could use just a tad more fruit for my preferences. Purchased upon release for $26. Nice village wine with leftover cassoulet.
I fell in love with Clos Saint-Jacques over 25 years ago, and my love continues unabated. I’ve been privileged to drink many fine examples over the years. I’m pretty sure I own more CSJ than any other cru from anywhere. It is a grand cru in every way except official classifcation.
I have never tasted a greater Clos Saint-Jacques than the 1993 Michel Esmonin we savored tonight.
Domaine Michel Esmonin 1993 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos Saint-Jacques
Dark garnet, amber rim, and as it breathed up it became more vibrant red. Sweet and elegant bouquet of spiced cherries, earth, rocks, iron filings, wild flowers… complex and compelling. Spicy and stoney palate, agile but so intense. Long, long finish, stony, detailed, precise. Terrific grip with gentle, velvety tannins at the end. A pointe now but this bottle seems set to go another decade or more. Exceptional/knocking on the door of Legendary.
(P.S.: At least two pros have commented on bottle variation with this wine, and I’ve had that too. Of about 6 or 7 bottles consumed, one was way advanced, most were outstanding complex wines, and this was the best of all.)
For those who understand French and are computer literate enough to navigate this site, I give a link with an example of what Patrick Essa does on degustateurs.com. Find the input on Charmes Chambertin here http://www.degustateurs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1599&KW=chambertin
He has written many other articles on the various climates (work in progress_ and I very much like the depth of his analysis although noboddy is assumed to have to agree with him. Of course, there are also many tasting notes… only drawback being in French (not a problem for me of course)
On Charmes Chambertin, he differentiates between 3 areas (high, medium and low) and claims he prefers the middle part to Griottes and Ruchottes Chambertin (the area where Bachelet, Dugat,… properties lie)
Last night several of us got together to look at some Gevreys. Here are a few thoughts and then a single note on the best of the bunch to me.
04’s - Greenies on Parade
Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin - cranberry nose with a nice texture in the mouth. Actually pretty nice length. Greenies came out when going back to this from non-04’s. Should be OK with time.
Rene Leclerc Gevrey Chambertin Lavaux St Jacques - darker fruited nose. Less greenies here but almost simple.
Rene Leclerc Gevrey Chambertin Clos Prieur (village area) - Slight greeness on the nose. Dark fruit. Here there is more volume and flavor. Actually the length is not bad. I liked this.
Leroy Gevrey Chambertin - huge nose but it is loaded with celery seed type of aromas. Very green. The palate is slammed shut and offers a very tart finish. Don’t know what this will become. Very green right now.
1998 Chezeaux(Ponsot) Griotte-Chambertin - monolithic. Huge darker flavors. Very un-Griotte like to me. Didn’t have that core of vibrant red fruit. Not much length. This one was nobody’s favorite.
1993 Rene Leclerc Gevrey Chambertin Combe aux Moines - vanilla on the nose. The palate is quite nice but finishes with an almost woody dryness. Others liked this much more than I did.
1990 Rene Leclerc Gevrey Chambertin Combe aux Moines - browning on the edges. The nose is wonderful. A hint of caramel but lots of earthy dark notes. The palate is drying but there is still a nice lingering finish. I liked this quite a bit. Drink up.
Now for the best.
2006 Dugat-Py Gevrey Chambertin VV
A gorgeous penetrating nose of dark fruit. The earthy elements are present but in the background at this point. The palate is silky and shows such great balance of fruit and acid. Fabulous long finish. Loved this. I know this style is considered “modern” but there is a purity here that is special. Gorgeous wine. Thanks John.
- What do you think are some misconceptions regarding the essential characteristics of Gevrey Chambertin Wine?
This is one of the more interesting questions for me, and one that is equally important for all wine areas, not just Gevrey or Burgundy as a whole. As the enthusiast community has become so connected we have often sought out “benchmarks” or typical characteristics to ground ourselves (and connect as a community) in a given area, large or small. If we are speaking of an area like Gevrey-Chambertin, with well delineated vineyards, defined to a large degree by what they give in a well made (important point) wine, then essential characteristics need to reflect what each of those specific plots give to a wine. Charmes tends to get treated as a bit of a red-headed stepchild because it doesn’t show the power of a Beze or Chambertin, yet in its own right it is a beautiful wine, that for me shows a perfect balance of power and elegance. It also seems to drink well younger (yet age as well), which is by no means a bad thing!
I tried 2 bottles from gevrey on Saturday that I posted in another thread, but I guess it can’t hurt to stick them here as well. The Guillon Champonnets was a nice find and well worth the pittance I got it for on winebid.
2004 Domaine Philippe Naddef Mazis-Chambertin- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru (2/19/2011)
I’d rate this flawed except I have a hunch this bottle was not unusual, so David’s 65 sounds about right. This was undrinkable. The green meanies dominated. Powerful green bean on the nose, just as bad in the mouth. You could tell there might be some very nice spicy red fruit in there somewhere, but this was so green it made no difference. I took one sip and poured this out, and the flavor stayed in my glass and ruined the next wine. If I ever consider buying an 04 burg, please smack me in the face and remind me of this bottle. (65 pts.)
2002 Jean-Michel Guillon Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Champonnets- France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru (2/19/2011)
This redeemed a weekend of somewhat disappointing wines. Moldy cork came out saturated nearly all the way up, which had me worried, but the wine was fine. Nose of dark cherries and plums, with a little pine and vanilla (from oak maybe?). Expansive dark fruited on the palate, with a bit a foresty element and plenty of meaty character that speaks of gevrey. Well balanced acid with some velvety tannin, through to a nice finish. Improved a bit with air. Delicious. (90 pts.)
We had a 93 Roty Charmes VV last night. I had it standing up for two weeks and popped and decanted around noon. Upon opening the nose roared from the glass with that classic earthy burgundy aroma. First taste at opening was of dark cherry and minerality. Their was noticeable acidity but it was not holding the wine back in any way. I was pretty excited. Served with dinner of roast chicken and root vegetables around 11 pm. The nose and palate really didn’t develop much in the time it was open. The flavor profile stayed the same just less of it. The acid was more prominent now. Still very enjoyable but not as much as I had hoped.
This led me to several conclusions. First, don’t decant Burgundy unless you’re going to serve it immediately. It loses something for sure. Second, for me the sweet spot in Burgundy is really around 15 to 20 years old. Finally, I really do like the Roty wines and will continue to pursue them. They are quintessential burgs that I find delicious even though they are a pain in the arse to find in top vintages.
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