Wine Article

Take any category of “luxury” product—cars, watches, wine, whatever—and ask yourself a simple question: As I climb the price ladder, what am I paying for? Is there real value here or have I just bought the marketing hype? It’s not always easy to tell, but sometimes it’s unmistakable: you can feel it, literally in your bones, when you drive a well-made car, and I most definitely felt it in my bones when I tasted this wine.

We previously offered the 2013 vintage of Domaine Arlaud’s Charmes-Chambertin, which was a mesmerizing wine. The 2014 is even better, just stunning in every regard. And while Grand Cru red Burgundy gets much more expensive than this, I don’t take a $150 for a bottle of wine lightly. There is real value here. And real pleasure. I can’t recommend a wine more emphatically.

Come to think of it, maybe the better analogy for this wine is not a Rolex but a racehorse; it’s all about a pedigree that’s more inborn than built. Charmes-Chambertin produces some of the most elegant wines of Gevrey-Chambertin’s Grand Cru vineyards, and Domaine Arlaud’s sliver of it is particularly choice: it sits at the highest section of the ‘Mazoyères’ portion of Charmes, just across the road from the start of the Latricières portion (more specifically still, Domaine Leroy’s piece of Latricières, from which they make a wine costing $1,500-$2,000 a bottle, if you can find it). I don’t want to geek out too much here, but this is what Burgundy is all about! Napoleon famously demanded ‘Chambertin’ wines at all times, going to great lengths to ensure his supply even while at battle in some far-flung locale.

Domaine Arlaud began with the WWII-era marriage of Joseph Arlaud to Renée Amiot, whose family owned several prime Burgundy vineyards, including pieces of the Clos St. Denis and Bonnes Mares Grand Crus. Joseph’s son Hervé followed, expanding the domaine’s holdings further, then in 1997 it was Hervé’s son Cyprien’s turn to run the show. Perhaps the hallmark achievement of Cyprien’s tenure has been his conversion of the domaine to biodynamic farming (certified in 2014). His cherished vineyards are ploughed by horse, and as one of Arlaud’s importers has noted, Cyprien’s sister, Bertille, has become “one of the most important horse-ploughers in France.” How’s that for a credential?!

Cyprien’s approach in the cellar is described as “non-interventionist.” His cold cave, located in the village of Morey-St-Denis, enables him to minimize his use of sulfur, and his wines undergo very long, slow fermentations started only with native yeasts. The Arlaud vines on Charmes-Chambertin are divided into three parts—one section of 80+-year-old vines; one of 50+-year-old vines; and one of 25+-year-old vines—which are vinified separately. The wine is aged in only 30% new barrels and typically incorporates around 30% whole grape clusters in the fermentation, depending on the vintage.

So much swirls around in my head as I taste Arlaud’s lithe, luxurious, shockingly affordable 2014. Aromatically, I’m reminded of high-toned perfume of Grand Cru Morey-St-Denis or Chambolle-Musigny, while on the palate I’m brought back to the firm structure and darker fruit of its home village of Gevrey. In the glass it’s a brilliant ruby-red with violet reflections on the rim, with aromatics that absolutely leap from the glass: wild strawberries; black raspberries; rose petals and other floral notes; white pepper; and that ‘sous bois’ forest-floor/undergrowth note that roots it in Burgundy. It starts out with glycerol-rich, perfumed, sweet red fruit, utterly delicious and charming, then firms up with some fine-grained Gevrey tannin and crushed-stone minerality. Medium-plus in body and already boasting an exceptionally long finish for a young wine, this is quite approachable—dangerously so, actually—in its youth. Even after just a half-hour open I was amazed by its silken generosity, and I can only imagine the delights that await 5-7 years from now. In an ideal world you’d sneak one bottle of this now and squirrel the other two away, as the underlying structure is most definitely in place for aging. It’s a mix of pretty and powerful that doesn’t come along often, a wine you loose a little shudder over after the first sip. Should you decide to try one now I’d suggest decanting it a good hour before serving in your most beautiful Burgundy stems at around 65 degrees. Don’t skimp on the food choice, either—roll up your sleeves and cook something worthy of this wine, like this haute cuisine hallmark. You’ll feel it in your bones.