GEVREY CHAMBERTIN

Surly nose gives the impression of quite a lot of body. Very richly fruited with a fine tannic framework and no heaviness at all. Juicy and appetising. Drinking range: 2023 - 2032 Rating: 17 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Nov 2017)

My own highlights include the Mazis- and Mazoyères-Chambertin and a quite brilliant Gevrey Lavaux Saint-Jacques. The 2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques includes slightly more whole-cluster fruit at 80%. The class of the terroir comes through here: very pure blackberry and wild strawberry fruit infused by cold stone, almost slate-like aromas. There is wonderful detail and definition here. The palate is well defined with more red fruit than the Fonteny, perhaps you could say more pinoté. Raspberry and wild strawberry tinged with spice, impressive depth with saliva-inducing salinity on the finish. Excellent Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 94-96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 2017)

(vinified with 80% stems). Here the equally cool nose is almost blatantly floral in nature with additional aromas of the sauvage, forest floor, wet leaves and warm earth that are very Gevrey. The almost painfully intense and overtly mineral-driven larger-scaled flavors exhibit a taut muscularity along with impressive power and mid-palate concentration, all wrapped in a cuts-like-a-knife finish that goes on and on. This is almost always Dugat’s best 1er and so it is again in 2016. This is textbook juice but note well that it’s going to need a very long snooze in a cool cellar before it arrives at its peak. Drinking range: 2034 - Rating: 94 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2019)

(60% vendange entier): Not hugely dark or deep in color. Reticent nose dominated by dark berries, licorice pastille and musky espresso; suggests a very full wine. A step up in energy and intensity from the Champeaux, with its blueberry, spice and game flavors energized by rocky minerality. Chewy, tactile and penetrating, boasting superb inner-mouth mineral tension. Complex, saline and full-bodied, this highly concentrated wine saturates the palate on the rising, vibrant aftertaste, leaving the taste buds humming. A big success for this cuvée, combining outstanding richness and a light touch. Rating: 92-95 Stephen Tanzer, www.vinousmedia.com (Jan 2018)

(vinified with 80% stems). Firm reduction but I doubt that it will last. The almost painfully intense and overtly mineral-driven larger-scaled flavors exhibit a taut muscularity along with impressive power and mid-palate concentration, all wrapped in a cuts-like-a-knife finish that goes on and on. This is almost always Dugat’s best 1er and so it is again, if only just, in 2016. This is textbook juice but note well that it’s going to need a very long snooze in a cool cellar before it arrives at its peak.*Sweet Spot*. Drinking range: 2034 - Rating: 92-95 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2018)