The second time in Burgundy, first with my fellow
wine-touring friends, and only about 6 hours to work with; our group took an
hour-long drive up from Macôn to visit domaines in the Cote d’Or on a cool and
rainy early April day. Once in Gevrey-Chambertin, we would move south through
the Côte De Nuits before finishing in the Côte De Beaune in Puligny-Montrachet.
Domaine Quivy was the first stop, in Gevrey-Chambertin.
Gerard Quivy, a fourth-generation vintner, has headed the domain since 1980
after leaving a career as an attorney. The domaine and adjoining residence are
in the heart of the village, with narrow streets leading up to the medieval
architecture of the domaine.
He owns plots in two Grand Crus in Gevrey-Chambertin-
Chapelle Chambertin and Charmes Chambertin, as well as in the 1er Cru Les
Corbeaux, producing wines from these plots as well from the village level Les
Journeaux and Les Evocelles vineyards. The plots are organically farmed, and
the resulting wines are fermented de-stemmed, with extended elevage in French
oak barriques, with around 20% new for the village wines, and around 50% new
for the 1er and Grand Cru wines.
We visited the underground cellar, and tasted the 2013 and
2014 vintages of Quivy’s Les Journeaux Gevrey-Chambertin, a village level
single vineyard wine, and the 2013 1er Cru Les Corbeaux. Stylistically, the
three wines showed nice structure and elegance, tending toward notes of dried
flowers, minerality and earth, tea leaf spices, and red fruit. The 1er Cru Les Corbeaux
added complexity on the nose, with notes of smoked paprika and earth and
additional florals, spices and red fruit; and density and length on the palate.
Both of the 2013’s displayed bright notes and angular profiles, indicative of
the rainy and cool vintage. The wines were lovely at a glance, with plenty of
long cellaring potential. In my wine notes I mention “stately elegance,” which
seems like an apt description for both the house style of the wine, and the
personality of the domaine.
Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux lies on N-74 as it passes through the
heart of Vosne-Romanée. Dating back 150 years, the domaine took its current
form in 1987 when Pascal Lachaux joined his father-in-law Robert Arnoux at the
estate. When Robert passed away in 1995, Pascal took the helm of the domaine,
finally changing the name from Domaine Robert Arnoux to Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux,
in 2007. In his time, Lachaux has introduced organic & biodynamic farming
techniques and green harvesting in the vineyards, and polished the depth and
profile of the wines in the cellar by gently extracting color, and avoiding
fining and filtering. Pascal’s son Charles took over vinification in 2012,
adding the dynamic of whole-cluster fermentation, further distinguishing the
style of the wines. Aging takes place in French oak barriques, up to 100% new
for Grand Cru bottlings.
The domaine’s vineyard holdings include parcels in the
villages of Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée, Flagey-Echezeaux, Vougeot,
Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin. Grand Cru holdings include
Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Echezeaux, Clos-De-Vougeot, and Latricières-Chambertin.We were given a tour and tasting with Charles Lachaux, who
explained how he’s put his own stamp on the winemaking. We tasted through a
quartet of 2013’s- the ’13 Vosne-Romanée, ’13 Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Poisets,
’13 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos des Corvees Paget and ’13
Latricières-Chambertin.
The complexity added from the partial whole-cluster
fermentation was apparent in each bottling, yet totally integrated into fruit
notes focused on fig, with a mélange of secondary mushroom, earth, spice and
floral notes that differed subtly with each bottling. Each 2013 was distinctive
for its richness and density on the palate. The ’13 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru
Clos des Corvees Paget stood out for the round and open fruit, and full
textures layered with earth, spice and flowers. The ’13 Latricières-Chambertin
wowed with heady complexity throughout, and silky richness and depth. We also
tasted a 2012 Chambolle-Musigny and 2011 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes,
which was notable for its display of sweeter red fruit notes and spice, and
lack of whole cluster influence.
Quite a lineup overall.
The obligatory drive-by at Romanée Conti
Overlooking Vosne-Romanée
Heading south, we ended in the Côte de Beaune, in the
village of Puligny-Montrachet, at Domaine Jean Chartron. The domaine is in a
workman-like facility in the heart of the village. Dating back to 1859, the 5th
generation domaine has vineyard holdings in Chassagne-Montrachet,
Puligny-Montrachet, Saint-Aubin, and Aloxe-Corton. Grand Cru holdings include
Chevalier-Montrachet, Batard-Montrachet, and Corton-Charlemagne. Production
being primarily white, Chartron produces reds from Puligny-Montrachet 1er-Cru
Clos du Cailleret, and two regional bottlings.
Chartron’s vineyard plots are farmed organically, without
use of herbicides and chemical fertilizers. The Chardonnays are
barrel-fermented in Allier and Vosges French-oak barriques, with 10-40% being
new depending on the bottling. Bâtonnage is light and takes place as the wines
undergo malolactic fermentation, and the wines are bottled lightly fined and
unfiltered.
We tasted a lineup consisting primarily of 2014’s, both village
and 1er Cru whites- The 2014 Savigny-lès-Beaune Pimentiers, 2014 Saint-Aubin
1er Cru Les Murgers des Dents de Chien, 2013 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Benoites,
2014 Puligny-Montracet, 2014 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Purcelle,
and 2014 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Cailleret. The lineup was
brilliant, with the common thread of the wines being mineral-driven bright
fruit, silky structure, and rich textures.
The ’14 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Murgers des Dents de Chien
stood out for its notes of mineral and oyster shell, citrus and stone fruit,
with spice and white pepper on the finish. The ’14 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Clos de la Purcelle astounded, popping with stone fruit and citrus, mineral,
white pepper; then deepening with honey, rose petal, and spices- silky,
complex, and ponderous. The ‘14 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Cailleret
similarly impressed, showing a little more butterscotch and spice, and a little
more reserved structure.
Additional Info:
Burgundy 101 - great overview of climate and soils at winefolly.com
List of Grand Cru Vineyards - wikipedia
