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Back 2022 will be a little Rosier through a Glass of Chambertin

Published on 28 January, 2022

©Linden Wilkie, 28th January, 2022

As Chinese New Year approaches and we contemplate The Year of the Tiger, I recalled a quote that I quite like from Napoleon Bonaprte – 
“Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin.”

I felt this needed empirical testing, and a bottle of 2010 Chambertin from Domaine Tortochot looked obliging.
Still somewhat rosy, true, but turning a more autumnal garnet now; the wine took quite some time – over an hour in the glass – to get going on the nose and palate, red fruit toned and with delicate but complete spice notes there, led by something verdant, mossy perhaps, giving a sense of freshness. There’s no corpulence here, its taut, almost sinewy, with plenty of minerality, and a slightly austere clip to the finish that nonetheless lingers fragrantly. 

It left me feeling contemplative and content, and yes, despite this being a more cerebral than hedonistic sort of bottle, I’m sure I felt a little more rosy about the world. The wine also definitely felt more “Chambertin” than “Bèze”, but I’ll get to that point in a bit.

The two leading grands crus of Gevrey-Chambertin – Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze lie adjacent to one another forming a long rectangular block, flattish and then gently sloping up to the forest above, on Prémeaux limestone and fairly thin soil, and cooled by the breezes flowing in from the Combe Grisard. It’s permitted within the AOC to blend from the two vineyards, and doing so requires the wine to be labelled Chambertin. Domaine Dujac, for example, is a practitioner of that (0.24ha in Bèze, 0.05ha in Chambertin). To be labelled Chambertin Clos de Bèze it must come 100% from that side. 

Is there any difference between the two? 

We asked Allen Meadows this question ahead of the Domaine Denis Mortet Chambertin vertical we hosted with him, and Laurence Mortet in Hong Kong in 2017, and he explained – 
“What’s the difference between Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze? Clos de Bèze is usually spicier, a little rounder. But Chambertin comes into its own with bottle age. Eric Rousseau says 25+ years. It ‘wins in the end’. I prefer Clos de Bèze in its youth. Coolness means Chambertin can be a little austere, like a Clos Vougeot, in its youth, but it is majestic. Indeed many historically have referred to it as majestic. To give you some indication as to how cool the vineyard can be, up until around 1950 there was even some Chambertin Blanc.

The Combe de Grisard is narrow and empties out at Latricières-Chambertin. This cool air slows ripening and preserves acidity, especially at night, when in fact it can be downright cold. Eric Rousseau picks his Chambertin-Clos de Bèze a full week before his Chambertin. The soil here is browner at the bottom and white at the top – slightly later picking at the top, and more mineral.”

Of course the preference between the two is a personal one. Not everyone agrees with Eric Rousseau. Christophe Perrot-Minot, who makes brilliant examples of both, has – I swear – an even bigger twinkle in his eye discussing Bèze than Chambertin. 

My own view is that it simply depends, in particular on the vintage itself which can favour one side over the other. When I hosted my first Rousseau Chambertin/Bèze vertical in 2004 we paired the two side by side blind, and once revealed I found that I had no particular preference, it was vintage-driven.

We tend too to look at these two grands crus too in the context of the village – as the best expressions of Gevrey-Chambertin. ‘Best’ often encapsulates a combination of all of the best attributes of Gevrey-ness, leaving out what we might call the deficiencies inherent in other ‘lesser’ vineyards. I once wondered then if – say – Musigny and Chambertin might have more in common with one another than with their respective villages of Gevrey and Chambolle. In hindsight that was perhaps a silly question, but it gave an excuse to assemble a pretty amazing selection of each, which we shared and discussed with a group in Shanghai in 2018. You can read my report and conclusions on that event here. My reflection on the central question? – 
‘The two vineyards have much in common – power, strength, grace, depth and length. The aromatics, fruit profile and ‘extra’ qualities differ, Musigny offering more silk, and a sweeter, more floral perfume; Chambertin offering a more wild (verging on a note of game or blood), more savoury tone and darker fruit. Still, differences between producers can really muddy the waters.’

So then, to the producers. We have a quite extensive offering from these two grands crus, so I will be selective in my comments – so do take a look at the full list at the end.

Let’s begin with the smart value way in. To lay down, I would begin with 2019 Domaine Tortochot Chambertin. This is a really smart choice for your cellar from a top year.

Xavier Horiot is doing more to rejuvenate the image of Pommard wines than any other producer I can think of today. They are supple, appealing, fully-fruited wines. And so I always associate him with Pommard. But the interesting thing is that his Domaine Launay-Horiot also owns some Latricières-Chambertin and some Chambertin. He has a serious methodical approach, and given his Chambertin is perhaps so far less widely known, now is a good time to be laying this down vintage by vintage.

Xavier Horiot

To drink? As you may know Charles van Canneyt of Domaine Hudelot-Noellat fame makes some wines under his own “micro-négoce” label. I drank a bottle of 2014 Charles van Canneyt Chambertin-Clos de Bèze at home in Beaune last summer, and loved its sweet fruit and spiciness. It’s surprisingly open and already so delicious. That hadn’t escaped the attention of my colleague, Bâtard restaurant manager Gon Leung either – it was his wine of the year for 2021, one he has been happily recommending to enjoy now. We also have the ’17, ’18, and ’19 to offer.

Next, I would suggest that if you tend to veer away from the “Maisons” / négocients of the Côte d’Or, you are missing out. Indeed, we are seeing a brand-repositioning of these larger concerns taking place. What once was seen as an advantage (distribution reach, and a certain reliability and consistency of style) is against today’s grain, where the fashion is driven by very small domaines and the image is of the fresh young vigneron. The lack of the word ‘Domaine’ undercuts the fact that these houses often own and farm some of the choicest vineyards on the côte. Louis Jadot, for instance, acquired its Chambertin-Clos de Bèze from the purchase of the Domaine Clair Daü in 1985. J. Faiveley are in fact the 4th largest owner of Chambertin Clos de Bèze, with 1.29ha – enough that they make both a regular bottling and a very special one called “Les Ouvrées Rodin” from a parcel of 60 year old vines (and in honour of the family patronage of artist Auguste Rodin). Qualitatively that wine sits in the front rank, no question. Joseph Drouhin are also farmers here, with 0.12ha of Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

The aforementioned Dujac example, made since 2005 when they co-acquired Thomas Moillard, is true to the Dujac top tier quality and whole bunch style - fragrant and refined, taut and structured, not one to broach early. I would say the Domaine Dujac 2006 and 2007 we have in stock are at the early end of their window, but good choices to see the Dujac style through the Chambertin lens.

Connoisseurs will seek out the aforementioned Domaine Denis Mortet. With Arnaud Mortet the baton here is in safe hands, and he is really hitting his stride now. Grab that one bottle of 2017 Chambertin from our list.

Sorting at Domaine Perrot-Minot

The level of meticulous attention provided by Christophe Perrot-Minot is very hard to beat, strict yield management, very intensive sorting (for which he has an optical sorting machine, as well as a human sorting line), and a use of whole bunches with the central stalks removed, provides the sort of freshness and aromatics we come to associate with whole bunch, but with the finest, silkiest sort of tannins. There is always a great expression of fruit in Christophe’s wines. They age well, but you can always broach them young too. He makes both Chambertin and Clos de Bèze.

At Domaine Leroy, Lalou Bize-Leroy, with an emphasis on low yields, producing even less than we might expect from her 0.50ha in Chambertin. At that Fine Wine Experience Chambertin vs Musigny dinner in Shanghai in 2018 I could not help but be impressed by her 1998 – an example of a good wine in a tough vintage. I wrote ‘Mature garnet; spicy, wild expression, richer and more exuberant than the ’98 Rousseau Chambertin, and also with a touch of ‘buttered popcorn’ oak. All in all a really signature Leroy nose; concentrated, sweet, grippy, full, oaky, very ‘Leroy’, sexy in style, though lacking a little charm and natural expression. For me this was upstaged by the Rousseau Chambertin, but mine was a minority preference. 93pts.’ The wine received five votes for wine of the night at our table. Leroy has gone through something of a style transition from her earliest domaine days beginning in 1988. Those first few vintages have real intensity and power aligned with some grace, while those made from the beginning of the 2000s onward I find especially graceful, verging on ethereal, more weightless in feel. Take your pick.

Eric Rousseau and the 1929

But for the name totally synonymous with these two great vineyards, there is none other than Domaine Armand Rousseau. The history and connection here is legendary. Anthony Hanson MW and I were at their cellars in July with Eric Rousseau (the 2020s here are outstanding), and afterwards in Eric’s office he showed us the familiar iconic label, framed, vintage…. 1929. There is enormous wisdom here, generations of it, and a complete focus on Gevrey cuvées. There is also all the advantage of scale of land to work – they are the largest owners of Chambertin, with 2.56ha, and the third largest owners of Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, with 1.42ha. 

So, coming back to that question – what is the difference between these two vineyards? – here is how to find the answer, by experiencing the wines they make. You can try the two vineyards side by side from us in the following Rousseau vintages – 1989, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, or through the following Perrot-Minot vintages – 2007, 2015, 2016, 2019.

Whichever Chambertin you choose, 2022 will surely look a little rosier when you open one.