Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The Dugat-Py family have nearly 1ha of Charmes-Chambertin, divided two-thirds to one between Charmes itself and Mazoyères. Picked early, this is a serious, textured, wild-herb-scented wine, beautifully crafted to combine structure with fruit weight, supported by acidity and adroitly handled new wood.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
As is invariably the case, the 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru is the most expressive and extrovert of the domaine's grands crus, bursting from the glass with an expressive bouquet of ripe red cherries, licorice and subtle nuances of grilled meats. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and expansive, with a broad attack and a generous core of concentrated fruit that entirely cloaks its discrete chassis of velvety structuring tannins. This Charmes will be more immediate than the Lavaux Saint-Jacques and should drink well with a decade of bottle age. It was vinified with 50% whole cluster and matured in new barrels.
Barrel Sample: 93-95
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.