What's Pressoir Drinking?
By Justine Puaud and Edouard Bourgeois
November 17, 2021
Gevrey-Chambertin in one Session
Gevrey-Chambertin is sometimes referred to as the King of the Côte de Nuits. No white wine is produced on the commune and the Pinot Noir reigns supreme in this blessed part of Burgundy, at the northern tip of the Côte de Nuits. Last Tuesday, Edouard walked us through the celebrated climats of the village with a tasting of exquisite wines from iconic Premiers Crus such as Clos St Jacques and even the Grand Cru Chambertin itself.
We started the tasting with a very lacy Gevrey village from our friend David Duband, a wine that unfolded its typical flavors of whole cluster fermentation. The second bottle was a hit and many attendees picked it as their favorite! No wonder as this was the beautiful Lavaut Saint Jacques of the historic Domaine Duroché. We then moved on to the Cazetiers from Faiveley, a wine that delivered power while singing the grandiose music of Gevrey with perfect accuracy. In my opinion, Domaine Trapet really made the grade in 2017. We tasted the domaine’s Clos Prieur, a small climat nestled right below the patriarchal Mazis Chambertin. We couldn’t do a relevant session on Gevrey-Chambertin if we omitted Clos Saint Jacques. So for the fifth wine, we opened the Clos Saint Jacques from Louis Jadot, one of the five owners of this legendary climat. To me, it was the most expressive wine of the lineup. The nose was quite exuberant, with potent aromas of ripe strawberries and an incredible length on the palate. And finally, with nine Grands Crus in the village, it was difficult to resist the temptation of tasting one of them. And while at it, why not the one and only Chambertin itself? Back to Trapet for this gorgeous wine that unsurprisingly showed some restraint but a very promising future.
More information about the Domaines below.
Domaine David Duband, Gevrey Chambertin 2017
David took over family domaine in 1991. Started converting to organic in 1999 and became certified in 2006. In 2008, he started playing with whole cluster winemaking and that quickly became his forte.
Duband’s vineyards are all located in or just west of the Côte d’Or’s northern sub-zone, the Côte de Nuits—almost exclusively Pinot Noir country. He maintains a stellar collection of entry-level wines, village wines from all the major communes from Gevrey-Chambertin to Nuits-Saint-Georges, and premier crus in Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis and Nuits-Saint-Georges. For grand crus, there are six.
The majority of the vineyards that constitute this wines are within Brochon in a section of this commune that borders Gevrey-Chambertin and can carry its appellation name on the label. This area lends itself to the most elegant side of Gevrey and it is apparent in the delicacy of this wine.This is made from a series of vineyards in Brochon that David purchases fruit from but does all the organic farming himself. They are Les Journaux, Les Gueulepines, Les Croisettes and Pince-Vin. The remainder of the vineyards, Les Seuvrées and Reniard, are located in the south of the appellation and downslope from the Grand Cru vineyards.
Domaine Duroché, Gevrey Chambertin Lavaut St Jacques Premier Cru 2017
Domaine Duroché is run by fifth-generation Pierre Duroché. His extensive Gevrey-Chambertin holdings include three Village wines, four Premiere Crus (Champeaux, Cazetieres, Estournelles st-Jacques and Lavaux st-Jacques) and four Grand Crus (Charmes Chambertin; Latricières Chambertin, Chambertin Clos de Bèze and a tiny holding in Griotte Chambertin).
The domaine’s holdings amount to a total of 8.25 ha. All the grapes are destemmed except for the Griotte Chambertin, which is vinified as whole clusters. Only natural yeasts are used during the fermentation, which usually takes 10 to 12 days.
Between 2005 to 2008 Pierre made the wines along with his father, Gilles, and since the 2005 vintage Pierre got full control of the wine making and vineyard management. The wines are gaining recognition by wine critics and wine enthusiasts as among the very best in their relative appellations.
Since the 2014 vintage Pierre introduced a new special Cuvée: “Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux St Jacques Vignes 23”: This wine is made exclusively from vines planted before 1923. Due to the setting of Chambertin, this plot is plowed by horse.
Domaine Faiveley, Gevrey Chambertin Les Cazetiers Premier Cru 2017
2017 is an early vintage. Harvests started on August 29th, the grape clusters were dense and compact thanks to excellent flowering in late May. Favorable climate conditions gave charm and generosity to the wines. 2017 is a classic style of vintage that can also be enjoyed in its youth. The wines are smooth and round with discreet tannins and good sugar levels. These seductive wines are quite similar to the 2007 and 2011 vintages although with a more fleshy palate.
The term "Cazetier" originates from "Castel", the parcel situated just above the Château de Gevrey. It is one of the rare "Têtes de Cuvée" to not have been reclassified as a Grand Cru in the 1930's. Along with "Lavaux-Saint-Jacques" and "Clos Saint-Jacques", this climat is considered to be one of the best Premiers Crus in Gevrey. The Domaine has owned half of the appellation since 2013.
Domaine Trapet Père Fils, Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Prieur 2017
Trapet Père et Fils is a seventh generation Gevrey-Chambertin estate and one of the largest holders of Chambertin (originally supplied to negotiants).
Jean-Louis’ great grandfather illegally grafted vines during phyloxerra in hopes of saving their holdings and in turn, they helped to save Burgundy.
Among the pioneers of natural viticulture in the region, Jean-Louis Trapet continues to lead the way in biodynamic farming (along with pals Frederic Lafarge, Dominique Lafon, Lalou Bize Leroy and others) They have been Demeter certified since 2009.
As was the fashion at many top estates in the 1990s, Jean-Louis used quite a bit of new wood for his top wines at that time, but by the 2000s he drastically scaled back the new oak and extraction in search of terroir-transparency.
The Clos Prieur and Petite Chapelle plots were some of the the first vines purchased by the family in the late 19th century. Clos Prieur was purchased in 1893
Maison Louis Jadot, Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques Premier Cru 2017
The « Clos Saint Jacques » vineyard is located at the beginning of the valley called Combe de Lavaux. It is very nicely South-East oriented. There are only five owners of this prestigious Clos, which may have deserved the Grand Cru Appellation when the first official classification was decided.
Destemmed grapes ferment in vats during 3 to 4 weeks. Aging takes place in oak barrels produced by our cooperage Cadus during 18 months.
Domaine Trapet Père Fils, Chambertin Grand Cru 2017
Trapet owns 1.85 hectares in this Grand Cru vineyard. The wine is aged in French barriques of which 30-75% is new depending on vintage. Their Chambertin parcel was bought in 1919.
This magnificient land, from which the blue blood of Pinot Noir flows, has a complex geological composition. The base consists of calcareous clay with superb internal large surface clays. The upper part is much whiter and clayish, which consequently slows down the vegetative cycle and confers a royal and rare equilibrium on this jewel of a wine !