Winemaker Notes
The Domaine's Grands Crus are matured in oak barrels (80% new barrels) made from wood from the Allier and Nivernais regions. The domaine favor light to medium-plus toasts as this ensures the perfect harmony between the wine and wood tannins. With a dark ruby color, Latricieres-Chambertin is virile and powerful. This is already clear on the nose, with the intensity and subtlety of the fragrances of black fruit (blackberry and blueberry), licorice and spices. On the palate the attack provides great aromatic complexity and is concentrated, massive and solid. The wine remains elegant and its delicious tannins are seductive. With round substance and good length, it is said to be "masculine and very balanced".
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Expressive, boasting aromas of cherry, currant and flowers, with ample fruit flavors augmented by mineral and earth tones, this red displays harmony already at this early stage. A beam of acidity drives this young Burgundy to a long aftertaste of chalk, stone, smoke and spice. Best from 2023 through 2043. 16 cases imported.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru is matured in 80% new oak. Apparently half of the vineyard was pulled up after the 2015 harvest due to superannuated old vines, but even so, there was still 40% less in this vintage (which implies there is bugger all in 2016). It has ample blackberry, bilberry and oyster shell scents on the nose, taking its time to gradually unfurl in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with black fruit, brisk tannin and fine mineralité, but it tightens up considerably towards the finish. More backward than the Chapelle-Chambertin, it deserves 4-5 years in bottle.
Barrel Sample: 92-94
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.