Visit to Domaine Sylvie Esmonin in June 2014

[Some notes from a recent visit to Burgundy. These notes written with Andrew].

Our first tasting of the day in Gevrey-Chambertin was at Domaine Sylvie Esmonin in Gevrey-Chambertin.

Sylvie Esmonin welcomed us at her Domaine and began by showing us the Clos Saint Jacques vineyard, which is right at her back door. She was extremely generous, not only with her wine and her time, but with frank and honest expression of her opinions.

Sylvie expressed a non-interventionist philosophy. She told us that man can’t create wine, he can only ruin it. The winemaking process is destructive and the best winemaker is the one who is least destructive.

She has an interest in the differences in style between male and female vignerons. She says that men are raised to be competitive and strong, which leads them to embrace new technologies. They are obsessed with their sorting tables, but if the grapes are properly handled in the vineyard, sorting is not necessary.

We began by tasting three 2013s in barrel. These wines had not yet undergone malolactic fermentation. After that we tasted some wines from the bottle ...

• 2013 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Côte de Nuits Villages

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Nuits Villages

  From vines in Brochon. Colour good garnet. Complex fruit aromas on the nose; musk and dark berries. Quite rich on the palate, flavours of raspberries and plums, with excellent structure to match. At the moment, pre-malo, it was a little hard. It seemed to me that this wine will be very good once in bottle and should develop nicely after 5+ years, with enough substance for longer-term cellaring.

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• 2013 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Gevrey-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  From multiple parcels. Deep colour. Gevrey animale on the nose nuancing the rich fruit that we have seen in other 2013s. Also red berry aromas but the bouquet was confused by the fact the wine was about to go into malo. Allowing for the pre-malo acidity, there was good bright fruit, upright structure, volume and supple tannins for development in the cellar.

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• 2013 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  From 1.6 ha, the second-largest holding in the Clos, on the northern end that borders Cazetiers. Deep red colour. A step up in intensity of the fruit and animale aromas of the previous wine, but with aromatic complexity, spiciness and an impressive structure. Pungent and a little reduced. Silky smooth entry to the palate. Real depth, power and structure. Excellent tannins and good acidity, all in balance. This is a lovely wine that will develop nicely over the next ten years.

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• 2011 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Gevrey-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Good garnet colour. Bramble aromas, spice, a little earth and underbrush frame the fruit on the nose. The entry on the palate has power that comes from the generous fruit. A rich and crunchy wine. Good fruit weight. The tannins are soft and dusty and the finish is long and rich. This is accessible and drinking well now but shows potential for improvement with age.

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• 2012 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Gevrey-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Very deep colour. The aromas are more closed than for the 2011, more in the dark berry spectrum, and it is softer and silkier on the palate with more finesse. Voluptuous, ripe and generous with spherical, fine grained tannins. Seemingly more dry extract than the 2011. A long, rich finish. Very good, I preferred it to the 2011.

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• 2003 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Gevrey-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  Nearly all whole bunch in this drought year (compared for example with 60% whole bunch in 2012), Sylvie said that the grapes had very thick skins in 2003. This is a cuvée ronde, made from 20 different parcels, including a little Clos Prieur Premier Cru. The wine has a very primary colour. The bouquet has aromas of dark cherries and blackcurrants. Also showing intriguing secondary evolution on the nose and some tertiary notes among the layers of fruit and spice. Great fruit on entry, powerful yet elegant, and a procession of rich flavours on the long finish. Very big boned but well structured. Serious dry extract. This is drinking very well now.

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• 2007 Sylvie Esmonin (Michel et Fille) Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  100% new oak, 75% whole bunch. Gevrey animale and savoury notes on the nose, spicy plums, tobacco leaf, dry brushwood and autumn leaves. A lovely, mellow, evocative bouquet. And the palate followed through. Just below medium weight, showing some secondary development, with spicy, savoury and slightly animale flavours. This was epiphany wine for me, one of the best I had on the whole Burgundy trip. Definitely worth its CellarTracker average of 94. Drink in the next 5-8 years, I'd say.

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Sylvie had talked about the 2011 and 2012 vintages.

She said that the 2011 vintage was a month earlier than 2013, on 5 September. Madame Esmonin doesn’t talk about global warming, but rather talks about global change. The Spring is the key season in the vineyard and these are now becoming too cold and wet or too warm and dry. The unpredictability and lack of a settled pattern is the main problem.

She also commented on her 2012s, saying “The 2012s are long and delicate and will age well”.

This was a truly memorable visit, which enhanced our understanding of the wines of this Domaine. The charm, energy and vivacity of the vigneronne seems to express itself in her wines.