Winemaker Notes
Very complex, long and deep, it needs time to open up. But when it is ready, it possesses every quality: a tightly-knit, velvety smooth texture, ripe, elegant fruitiness and an almost never-ending finish.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The Mortets' five parcels here cover 1.2ha in all, and run from the top of the Combe de Lavaux to the bottom, close to the Clos St-Jacques. Fermented without whole bunches, this is another superb red from Arnaud Mortet, now established as one of the best red winemakers in Burgundy. It's juicy, textured and crunchy, with the acidity that's typical of the terroir and deftly handled 80% new wood.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques is also performing very well from bottle, unwinding to reveal aromas of wild berries, orange rind, warm spices, raw cocoa, rich soil tones and peonies. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and enveloping, with a fleshy core of fruit that entirely conceals the wine's powdery tannins, ripe acids and a perfumed finish. This is a supremely charming Lavaux Saint-Jacques that will offer a broad drinking window.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
This small village is home to the Grands Crus in the farthest northerly stretches of Côte de Nuits and is famous for some of the deepest and firmest Burgundian Pinot Noir.
Gevrey boasts nine Grands Crus, the best of which are arguably Le Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. As with all of the fragmented vineyards of Burgundy, it isn’t easy to differentiate between the two, which are situated adjacent with Clos de Bèze slightly further up the hill than Le Chambertin. Clos de Bèze has a shallower soil and if you’re really counting, may produce wines less intense but more likely to charm. Some compare Le Chambertin in both power and plentitude only to the prized Romanée-Conti Grand Cru farther south in Vosne-Romanée.
Two other Grands Crus vineyards, Mazis-Chambertin (also written Mazy-) and Latricières-Chambertin command almost as much regard as Le Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. The upper part of Mazy, called Les Mazis Haut is the best and Latricières-Chambertin offers an abundance of juicy fruit and a silky texture in the warmer vintages.
Other Grands Crus are Ruchottes-Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin, Mazoyères-Chambertin, Griotte-Chambertin and Chapelle-Chambertin.
The most respected Pinot Noir wines from Gevrey-Chambertin are robust and powerful but at the same time, velvety and expressive: black fruit, black liquorice and chocolate come into play. After some time in the bottle, the wines are harmonious with bright and sometimes candied fruit, and aromas of musk, truffle and forest floor. These have staying power.