Gevrey-Chambertin
En Champs Bio 2020
The name has prestigious overtones, and the place itself is about as noble as they come. To say the least, Gevrey-Chambertin is where the the real Burgundy Grands Crus begin…
Origin
Gevrey-Chambertin is a large town located at the northern end of the Côte de Nuits. It boasts one of the largest surface areas under vine with no fewer than 330 hectares under production. The vines are planted at altitudes of between 240 and 280 metres. The soil is limestone-based with a high proportion of clay marlstones from the scree of the Combe de Lavaux, giving power and roundness to the wines.
"En Champs" is located north of the appellation, on the hillside of Brochon which produces some of the most beautiful Gevrey-Chambertin villages.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: fairly lean and made up of sandy marls.
Orientation: East
Surface area under vine: 0.1621 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 32 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 91 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 6 September 2020.
The grapes were handpicked.
They were sorted a first time in the vineyard and again on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: the grapes were 50% destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration with 50% of entire grapes lasted a total of 18 days including 5 days of cold maceration (12°C). Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). 1 punching of the cap. Vinification without sulfur.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 15 months with no racking using a proportion of 43% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time for very delicate oaking.
Bottling
Bottling in February 2022, the wine was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity.
Number of bottles: 686.
Vintage
Balanced and concentrated
The harvests happened back-to-front! They began with the reds ripening before the whites. The harvest was very disease-free but we had to eliminate sunburnt berries, especially in the case of the Pinot Noir vines as the Chardonnays had coped better with the heat. Quality was definitely good, but relatively low juice yields has resulted in Pinot Noirs with high colour and aromatic intensity. On the other hand, the Chardonnay vines produced adequate yields with a good balance of sugar and acidity. This optimal ripeness enabled us to harvest the red grapes in certain plots according to the ‘vendange entière’ approach, where stalks are fermented along with the grapes.
'Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential. Summer fruit coulis notes definitely have the upper hand in this year’s vintage! The whites are nicely-balanced, but it’s too early to be more precise. Watch this space…’ Grégory Patriat.
Ageing potential: From 7 to 12 years.
Awards
JamesSuckling.com - 95/100
Tasting notes
With its beautiful dark red color, this wine offers intense aromas of raspberries, blackcurrants, enhanced by some smoky almost mineral notes. On the palate, this powerful wine reveals an intensity and a very good length. A very nice wine to keep !
