2012 Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes

Some reduction on the nose – just a bit rubbery and needing air. Dark and rather dry on the palate but has a certain austere elegance. (JH)

Dark red cherries, plums, spices and wild flowers are woven together in the 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Mes Favorites Vieilles Vignes. This is an especially tense, energetic Mes Favorites built on perfume and freshness rather than the more intense style of years past. There is a lot to like here.

The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Mes Favorites Vieilles Vignes comes from the oldest vines around 70 years in age. It has a clean fresh bouquet with strawberry and raspberry scents laced with floral notes that should fill out by the time of bottling. The palate is medium-bodied with tart red cherry and strawberry fruit on the entry. It is more harmonious than the nose on Burguet’s other cuvees, while the finish offers good structure if not quite the fireworks I was expecting. Burguet Bros. – Jean-Luc and Eric – have been managing this domaine since their father Alain retired a couple of years ago, although Burguet pere actually took a back office role in 2000. They source fruit from around 8 hectares of vines, exclusively Pinot Noir. Some of their cuvees come from contracted growers on the condition that they are granted free rein to pick upon their choosing. Others come courtesy of the family’s own vines. Thereafter, their principles are founded upon strict sorting three times: first via the eagle-eyed picker, then on the first sorting table prior to de-stemming and then berry-by-berry with six to eight women working a second table de trie. Only wild yeasts are used to start the fermentation with minimal use of sulfur. The wine is usually transferred into barrel as soon as possible after pressing. The wines see a prudent use of new oak during maturation, although they seem keen to keep it as low as possible, with only one racking before bottling by gravity and without filtration. This address is a source of respectable, commendable wines. Sure I found nothing spectacular here in 2012, but I certainly appreciated their consistency and charm. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selections (Le Serbet) and through various US importers (see www.leserbet.com for full list.)