Winemaker Notes
The fruit for this wine comes from vineyard parcels that lie approximately 886 feet to 919 feet in elevation in Mazoyères-Chambertin and the upper portion of Charms. Grapes are sourced from two adjoining climats: Aux Charmes and Mazoyères ou Charmes
Professional Ratings
-
Jasper Morris
Rich full purple. The nose expresses all the charm one would hope for, raspberries and roses, a sensual start with a more structured finish. Exactly what one wants from Charmes. There is very good length here.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru is serious, unwinding in the glass with scents of raspberries, cherries, woodsmoke, orange rind and petals that are framed by a deft touch of new oak. Full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, it's a bit more overtly structured than the domaine's Echézeaux (which preceded it in this tasting), with a tightly wound core and chalky back-end grip.
Range: (93 - 95)+ -
Decanter
Produced from several parcel acquired by the domaine beginning in the 1970s. Some of these are located in Mazoyères and some in Charmes, proper. The vineyard was green harvested in 2019, a technique which used to be invariably applied, but now only as needed. The result is a wine of uncommon intensity for Charmes-Chambertin; a bit closed on the nose and very grippy on the palate. With time, however, it reveals substantial fruit and extract. Should open well with time.
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.