2023 Gevrey Chambertin Les Jouises Vieilles Vignes

The 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Jouises Vieilles Vignes, matured in 20% new oak with 50% whole bunch, has quite an intense nose with blackberry, briar and light tobacco scents that will take time to unfold. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, ripe tannins. It is silky smooth with lovely balance and a very composed finish. Here, the stems really impart just the right amount of freshness. This is excellent. Heresztyn-Mazzini is an estate that I have visited regularly for a decade now. They might not be one of Gevrey’s “superstars,” but they have been producing excellent wine for several years. Underlying their success is a cluster of choice holdings, biodynamic vineyard husbandry and an attention to detail in the winery, where I find assiduous use of whole clusters. Their 2023s may well be the finest set of releases so far, perhaps better than the 2022s. “We did a green harvest in July for two weeks. There was a lot of rain that month, so we used silica when it was dry, which helped with the structure of the wine. I had never seen such a precocious vintage. Picking began on September 7 and the average yield was around 35 hl/ha.”