David, I’m not sure I follow what you are saying. Maybe your point is that, as we think about crus such as Clos de Beze and Charmes, one is not better than the other, just different? Charmes is a bit of a “red-headed stepchild”, and I think the reason is that there are so many disappointing examples of it. I don’t tink it is a question of Beze having more power, do you? Maybe I’m just not reading yiur post correctly.
Ouch. Thanks for all those notes, Don. I am curious how you know this bottle is from Ponsot rather than Leclerc?
I agree. What works best for me is to pour out enough so that there is about a silver dollar sized suface area and then let it slow-ox in the bottle. I usually try and do this around lunch time.
A bit hard for me to generalize because different vintages mature at very different rates. Look at 1999 and 2000. 1999s are still quite young tasting while 2000s can have lots of mature aromas and flavors.
Honestly I know practically nothing about the producer. I stumbled across the bottle on WineBid for what seemed like a pretty good price and took a flier on it. Wish I could tell you more. Wine-searcher shows not too many U.S. places sell it; I wonder if they have any legit importation or if it’s all gray market. I know the domaine has been reviewed by Burghound (I can see that there’s an entry for the Burghound note in CT, but as I’m not a BH subscriber I can’t read it), but if you’re a subscriber you may be able to get some more information there.
Here’s a link to what Clive Coates has to say: The Wines of Burgundy - Clive Coates M. W. - Google Books
I’m really thinking pop and pour for most vintages under 30 years old. Then have something else handy to drink while you watch it over a few hours. I’ll Audoze older bottles.
You’re right Berry I shouldn’t generalize. although many 2000 GC can still age a bit more most are ready. I guess I was thinking about "major’ vintages.
I’m having the 98 Ponsot Griottes this weekend. Fingers crossed.
Hi Folks,
Lew asked me to pop by when this thread got rolling and I am happy to have gotten off the road in time to contribute. Some really interesting reflections about the commune in the comments posted so far (really want to hear more about Paris in '82!) and I wanted to try and add a bit to the discussion. But first and foremost, I wanted to post my notes here on Ray Walker’s superb 2009s from the commune that are soon to be headed out from the Maison Ilan cellars in Nuits St. Georges, which are probably the most exciting “first vintage” wines I have ever had the pleasure to taste in Burgundy. I think that everyone who has had the foresight to reserve their allocation here is going to be really excited when the wines arrive later this year, and I for one cannot wait to taste the 2010s that are waiting in the wings and am looking forward to following the Maison Ilan wines as the years roll on.
2009 Charmes-Chambertin- Maison Ilan
The Charmes-Chambertin is made from fifty year-old vines and was raised in one-third new oak in 2009, as Ray needed a third barrel in this vintage and his only option was a new one at the time he decided his production was going to be sufficient to support another full barrel. The wine is really a fine example of the vintage, as it jumps from the glass in blend of black cherries, plums, raw cocoa, a touch of background meatiness, fresh herb tones and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and youthful, with fine-grained tannins, sound acids and really lovely length and grip on the focused and still fairly primary finish. Fine juice. 2018-2045+. 93.
2009 Chambertin- Maison Ilan
The 2009 Maison Ilan Chambertin is also excellent. The bouquet is deep, fresh and complex, as it offers up a mix of red and black cherries, a touch of plum, woodsmoke, cocoa, lovely soil tones, spices and a bit of venison. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and long, with a slightly more open personality than the Charmes-Chambertin, but also plenty of underlying structure. The wine exudes a sappy core of fruit, and offers up fine length and grip on the complex and ripely tannic finish. This too is a very fine example of the vintage, and may well drink just a tad sooner than the lovely Charmes. 2018-2050. 93+.
As I am working on an article on the Alentejo region in Portugal at the present time, I have not cracked any bottles of Gevrey this week, but did taste a few good examples during the week leading up to the Paulee recently. I will dig notes out on those wines and post them shortly.
All the Best,
John
Gevrey, as one of the largest communes in the Cote de Nuits is really home to a fairly wide varieties of terroir, and IME some of the generalizations about the village’s “masculine” style are not particularly accurate when applied to certain crus. For example, the small and superb premier cru of Les Goulots, located at the far northern end of the village, with its strong vein of limestone in the soil is really much more “Chambolle-like” in terms of aromatic and flavor profile than it is reflective of the style of its close niehgbors such as Lavaux St. Jacques or Cazetiers. On the far other end of the village, a premier cru such as Combottes is also a very elegant and refined wine right out of the blocks and not one that I would necessarily characterize as “masculine” in style. I am also a great fan of perfumed and refined excellence of Petite Chapelle at its apogee.
For my palate, some of the most uderrated grand crus in all of Burgundy are also found in Gevrey, as I have a far deeper respect for the potential profundity of the wines of Latricieres-Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin and Charmes-Chambertin than many others. Charmes is a fairly large vineyard and not all of it is created equal (though this is certainly also the case in other grand crus such as Richebourg or Clos de la Roche, which never seem to get characterized in quite the same way as Charmes). But one taste of a Charmes from the likes of Denis Bachelet, Philippe Roty or Jacky Truchot in the day should be suffricient evidence that there is plenty of magic to be had in this vineyard. And lest we forget, a significant percentage of Jacky Truchot’s Charmes vines actually were in Mazoyres. Both Latricieres and Chapelle are amongst my favorite grand crus in the Cote de Nuits- certainly they can produce some of the most elegant and ethereal wines of Burgundy once they reach their apogees of maturity. Perhpas their more elegant styles in a village that has been traditionally championied for the more powerful wines of the commune has been a strike against them in the public’s imagination, but one taste of an old vintage of Domaine Trapet’s Chapelle or Latricieres should be ample evidence that these are indeed two great terroirs.
All the Best,
John
Wow, John, what lovely notes on those two wines.
You have no doubt heard the quote along the lines of… “I don’t remember the place or the time… I don’t remember the girl, can’t recall her name… But the wine, ahhh, the wine was Chambertin.” Well I can tell you, that’s not my quote, and Paris in 1982 was not such a time. I can remember all the details except the wine, which if truth be told, may not have been Gevrey-Chambertin at all. And that’s all I’m saying, 
Ray, congratulations, dude, and your task now is to get them in bottle and don’t f**k it up. Just unbelieveablr to get such sterling reviews from vintage #1, well done.
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2000 Domaine Robert Groffier Gevrey-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin (2/23/2011)
A spicy nose that is dominated by strawberries, graphite, mint, and even a dash of pickle juice and soy sauce. This producer’s use of oak is also prevalent, but does seem to blend in with the rather complex and bright nose. The color makes one think this will be a very light bodied wine, but it surprises on the palate with a more substantive feel than predicted. Silky, weighty, flavors of strawberry, earth, and deli meats. I’m getting just the SLIGHTEST hint of TCA as well, so I’m glad that this bottle is going down now, rather than waiting for it to blossom further in the bottle. It’s so slight, it is absolutely no bother. Finish is quite good, lingering strawberry and herbal notes, with a beautiful acidic base. The immediate start of the finish has a bit of syrupy sweetness to it, but it fades quickly. (93 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
A few years ago, I had been very disappointed by a Chambertin 1990 from Rossignol Trapet. Recently, some friends told me that Roossignol Trapet had become a very good source of GC. What is your take on this?
Rossignol-Trapet is indeed making superb wines these days and merit inclusion in the top division in Gevrey. As they use quite a bit of whole clusters in their fermentation, the wines can be a bit marked by their stems right out of the blocks (this is also true of others who employ whole cluster, such as Christophe Roumier, Domaine Dujac and Maison Drouhin), but with a few years of bottle age this is not an issue that anyone is going to notice. The domaine, like many in Burgundy these days, has dialed back the amount of new oak they use and has also greatly reduced the toast on the barrels, so the wines seem decidedly less new oaky today than was the case a decade ago. I used to find the new oak most difficult with their wines from the Cote de Beaune, and those bottlings have really responded well to the changes here. They have also stopped blending their small parcels in some of Gevrey’s top premier crus to make a single “Premier Cru” bottling, so that now one can enjoy their Combottes, Corbeaux, Champeaux on their own, which beautifully augment their other two premier crus of Clos Prieur and Petite Chapelle. In fact, a visit to Rossignol-Trapet is a wonderful way to see the dramatic stylistic differences between some of the top premier crus in Gevrey, as there is a very wide range from the very black fruity and meaty Clos Prieur, through the more classically middle of the road Gevrey stlyle of Corbeaux (certainly one of Gevrey’s most complete and compelling premier crus in my book), to the much more perfumed, plummy and ethereal styles of their Combottes and Petite Chapelle. And Champeaux, their remaining premier cru is often quite Moreyu St. Denis-like out of the blocks, with a more red fruity personality and nicely “weedy” tones out of the blocks. All three grand crus here are made impeccably well. Defiinitely an estate that has made quantum leaps since 1990 and well worth revisiting.
Best,
John
John…thanks for posting ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
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R-Trapet Chambertin…is priced at 33% of a CdBese-Rousseau or 50% of CdBeze-Jadot in Quebec, Canada and is the only Chambertin or Chambertin-CdBeze that I could afford and buy now; but I do not regret it…
Thanks a lot John for all this insights! This will get RT to get all my deserved attention!
By the way, I just checked Patrick Essa’s site (degustateurs.com) and Peter C will be delighted to note he also commends Rossignol Trapet’s improvements.
I do like Patrick Essa site and appreciate what he had done; but sometimes we are on different paths. Guess that is the beauty of Burgundy ![[stirthepothal.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f40faec63ca1018898a40805efbf9f0066a3d205.gif "[stirthepothal.gif]"){kind=small}
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2005 Hubert Lignier Gevrey-Chambertin - Decanted. Color: Reddish-black. Aroma: Blackberry, blood. Taste: Stoic, with dark fruit, iron, and not giving much else. My punishment for opening this too young.
2006 Rossignol-Trapet Gevrey-Chambertin - Decanted. Color: Dark red. Aroma: Red and Black berries and earth. Taste: Red berry, baking spice, leather, medium acidity. Still tightly wound, but was more giving than the Lignier.
Someone also brought a bottle of the Villaine Mercurey ‘Les Montots’ 2007, which danced like a butterfly in front of the other two. Lovely wine.
I’m not addressing the issue of underperforming producers, but rather the underlying characteristics of the site. Maybe I just have not been burned enough by Charmes, but I don’t consider it less Gevrey than the other GC sites.
Thanks for posting ( the TNs ) - much appreciated.
I have not open any Villaine Mercury * Les Montots * 07…but will soon.
I will hang-onto the 06 R-Trapet Gervey-Chambertin perhaps 3 or 4 more years as I do not own too many.
Thanks for the insight on Rossignol-Trapet. I’d like to know more about Les Corbeaux…
Last night I was thumbing through Jasper Morris’ superb new book “Inside Burgundy”. Morris has a brief discussion about each 1er cru, and he identifies a handful as “exceptional 1er cru” or “outstanding 1er cru”. He seems to use the terms exceptional and outstanding interchangably. Most of the crus he rates simply as “1er cru”, and a few he nominates as equal to “Village”.
Essentially all of his exceptional/outstanding 1ers are the usual suspects. Les Amoureuses is the only one in Chambolle. There are none in Morey. In Gevrey, he singles out Clos Saint-Jacques, Les Cazetiers, Aux Combottes, and Les Corbeaux. This latter one surprised me. But even more puzzling is his discussion of this cru… He seems to be describing just another mid-level vineyard without any particular praise for it. His text about Corbeaux is a complete mismatch with his rating of “exceptional 1er cru”. Frankly, I thought this rating might be an editing error.
Any thoughts about Les Corbeaux (or about Morris’ treatment of it) would be appreciated. I don’t recall seeing Les Corbeaux on other short lists of the very elite 1ers by other authors. I have never had this wine, although I see Bruno Clavelier (one of my favs) has 0.22 ha in addition to Rossignol-Trapet’s 0.14 ha.