Roi Chambertin, Gevrey Chambertin
Tasted Thursday, November 12, 2015 by PanosKakaviatos with 1,150 views
2015 Burgundy may be getting the lion’s share of media coverage, but professionals who travelled to Burgundy during the Hospices de Beaune weekend in November 2015 gave positive reviews to many 2014s that were also assessed at a special tasting of Gevrey Chambertin the Thursday before the auction.
“Media magnet vintages like 2015 get the buzz, and that actually confuses the picture,” said Berry Bros. & Rudd Burgundy buyer and wine author Jasper Morris. “We should be talking about 2014, as it is coming to market.” 2014 is “beautiful” for whites, and a thoroughly good vintage but no as regular for reds, Morris added.
Others not directly in the business, like me, share Morris' assessment. Take for example positive reviews by American wine writer Michael Apstein: “I was truly impressed by the quality of the red Gevrey Chambertins, from village through to grand cru,” he said. Although village level wines were not always very regular, wines from producers such as Bouchard Pere & Fils and Sylvie Esmonin, were delicious with bright red fruit. Higher-level premiers and grands crus were “more regular in quality, and certainly should present excellent price/quality ratios,” said Munich-based wine educator and consultant Stefan Metzner.
As you can read in these notes - some are the first 2014s evaluated here on Cellar Tracker - from an excellent tasting put together at Le Roi Chambertin in Gevrey Chambertin, you can find some excellent village level wines as well as fine showings from the upper echelons. I erred on the conservative when it came to scoring.
It is true that 2014 whites are particularly excellent, as I had posted in Cellar Tracker for example notes on a recent master class at Bouchard Pere & Fils, and I will post at a later date my impressions of other fine 2014 whites that I tasted over the Hospices de Beaune weekend. But one should also look with interest at the reds. Burgundy prices have been going up, up and away, but more favorable exchange rates between the pound and the euro and the dollar and the euro mean that price pressure will be buffeted. Time to re-examine Burgundy 2014, especially if prices do not go up too much more.
Some excellent wines here, in particular the 2014 Domaine Pierre Naigeon Gevrey-Chambertin (92 pts) and the
2014 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Gevrey-Chambertin
More very good to excellent wines. In this flight, I had a coup de coeur for the 2014 Sylvie Esmonin.
Lovely wines here, most in the "90s".
Coup de coeurs for the 2014 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambertin-Clos de Bèze (94 pts) and the
2014 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Mazoyères-Chambertin (94+ pts).
Many thanks to Le Roi Chambertin for inviting me to taste.
2014 Bouchard Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
Tasted after a somewhat rough Denis Berthaud, the Bouchard was smoother, with ripe red fruit, although not among the most impressive village levels tasted here. It is still a fine and fresh wine!
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2014 Denis Berthaut Gevrey-Chambertin Clos des Chezeaux 87 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
This falls into the just OK category for village level 2014s. It has freshness and decent body, but I could sense a hint of green as well ...
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2014 Jean-Luc & Eric Burguet Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée Symphonie 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
Clean and fresh, this is a fine example of red fruit driven village level Gevrey Chambertin from the 2014 vintage. Nice job!
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2014 Jean-Luc & Eric Burguet Gevrey-Chambertin Mes Favorites Vieilles Vignes Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
I reserve scoring this one as the nose seemed a bit off...
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2014 Eugene Ellia Gevrey-Chambertin 86 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
This exudes clean red fruit aspects that are pleasurable but there is a sense of flatness that makes it somewhat monotone. Just ok, I would seek out other village level Gevrey Chambertins in 2014.
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2014 Jane et Sylvain Gevrey-Chambertin 87 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
Just as I had experienced with the Eugene Ellia, but better. This village level wine has fresh red fruit aspects with a bit more concentration and length. Still, it comes across more as a luncheon wine.
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2014 Domaine Pierre Naigeon Gevrey-Chambertin 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
This was a bottling actually called "En Sylvie" and it was delicious. Bright and savory, even floral, with red fruit and a seductive palate with a long finish. A wine to seek out!
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2014 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Gevrey-Chambertin 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
Tasted after the Gevrey Chambertin "En Sylvie" by Naigeon, this comes across as more "serious" and tannic by comparison, and not quite as much fun. I suspect it will turn out excellent with time in bottle, but a conservative score for now.
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