Visit Domaine Duroché – tasting of the 2015s from cask

The mysterious world of Gevrey-Chambertin – the reemerging appellation. I got off on the wrong foot with Gevrey-Chambertin back in the 1990s … buying and tasting extracted, concentrated and or decade-macerated wines. Back in the days where many of these wines tasted more like a Bordeaux with the raspy tannins of a Barolo! – a slight exaggeration helps sending the message.

It took me a while where I beleived this was the way to go … but around the turn to the new millennium I realized this is not the Burgundies I want – and changed towards the more refined and delicate Burgundies, and somehow sadly also drifted away from the Gevrey appellation.

I have now sold these wines from the cellar … no producer names mentioned … and made a fresh start with Gevrey. To be honest newer turned my back on the Rousseau wines … a safe haven of quality and tradition in Gevrey-Chambertin.

My renewed interest began with a wine from Alexandrine Roy – as this was the kind of Burgundy I really like to drink. So a new world has opened again in Gevrey-Chambertin .. a village with so many known and unknown estates, and perhaps the village in Côte de Nuits where one see most new wines and producers are emerging.

One of the tings I have learned about Burgundy over the years is that quality can change rapidly and estates can within a few years go from the unknown and with a somewhat lackluster performance, to a quality level where the wines offer both tremendous quality and drink-ability. 

This is the case with Domaine Duroché a rather large estate located in the very center of Gevrey-Chambertin. The quality has improved tremendously over the last years, as the son Pierre Duroché now has taken over the vinification. Pierre began to take over in 2005 and now has established himself as one of the new and promising estates of Gevrey-Chambertin. 

I was therefore excited to taste the wines (a lot of his colleagues has recommended this estate) .. and to see how far Pierre has come since I tasted the wines some 15 years or more ago in Denmark.

Let me just say … Pierre has really taken this estate to a whole other level.

Domaine Duroché the wines

Domaine Duroché offers five different Gevrey village, three 1er crus and four Grand Crus all located in Gevrey Chambertin – they also produce a white wine made from Chardonnay and a generic Pinot-Noir – both made from the area around Gevrey-Chambertin.

The wines are all made with a quite light hand – impression of oak is limited as is extraction. All the cuvées offer a nice expression of terroir and are classic yet slightly modern Gevreys – pure, transparent and juicy. 

These are the type of wines I enjoy … so a lot to like and with a portfolio of vineyards like this a very fine potential indeed. This is clearly an estate to follow.

Tasting notes from the Visit on November 8th 2016

Starting out with the Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2015 made from plots located below the RN74 just south of the village towards Morey-Saint-Denis. Fresh and juicy .. with a fine weight for this level. Lovely mid-palate fruit and a nice hint of earthy minerality in the nose. A Good (84 – 86p) generic Burgundy.

Moving on to the Gevrey-Chambertin 2015 village – 3ha and around 9000 bottles produced. This is a quite classic generic Gevrey village that offers excellent drinking. The bouquet offer ripe red and dark berries with a nice hint of earthy minerality. On the palate lovely balance – fine juicy fruit .. classic with a fine length and depth. It’s a Good+ (86 – 88p) village, that will offer fine drinking over the next 5 to 10 years.

Setting the scene for the first lieu-dit village Gevrey-Chambertin Champ 2015. Its made from a plot located in the upper northern part of Gevrey – below Les Champeaux and on the Brochon side of the village. This is a classic Gevrey village, earthy with a fruit on the riper side of the vintage, offering nice balance and weight. Good+ (87 – 88p)

Next lieu-dit is the Gevrey-Chambertin Les Clos 2015 – located in the village area near the church. This is a more vibrant and juicy wine, offering more red fruit – slightly reduced but nevertheless with a beautiful juicy and silky mid-palate fruit. A very enjoyable wine taking it up quite a notch from the two first village wines – Very Good (88 – 89p).

Another lieu-dit is Gevrey-Chambertin Les Jeunes Rois 2015 – located below Champ in the Brochon appellation. This is both a serious and playful wine – a bit darker in the fruit than the Les Clos, but offering a lovely playful energy in the mid-palate fruit along with a lovely richness. It´s classic and yet it offers a lovely generosity and depth – old wines planted in 1953. Very Good (88 – 90p)

The next wine is the village lieu dit Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Etelois 2015. This plot is located on the southern side of Griotte-Chambertin alongside the Claude Dugat plot and below the Duroché plot of Griottes-Chambertin. It is quite strange that this vineyard has been classified as village as it’s located so close to the Grand Crus. This is a magnificent terroir that produces a generous and complex village. The bouquet offer rich and expressive red and dark fruit – red and dark cherries, raspberries, red currant .. a mini Griotte in a sense. On the palate very generous, rich and velvet .. with a tremendous depth and intensity for a village wine. 2015 was a hot year for Griotte, but still this wine has retained a fine balancing freshness .. a quite magnificent village by all standards – Fine (91 – 92p).

To the 1er crus – first up is Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux 2015 – a somewhat overlooked terroir above the village. This is classic Gevrey .. earthy minerality, lovely darkly toned fruit – blueberries, dark cherries – lovely mid-palate fruit – very balanced and quite delicate – Fine (91 – 92p).

Next up a rare bird Gevrey-Chambertin Estournelles St. Jacques 2015. Estournelles is the least known of the St. Jacques perhaps justifiable so .. but nevertheless a quite sensual and delicate climat. The Duroché plot is located near the wall towards Clos St. Jacques and has produced a generous and seducing wine. This is a wine that have benefited from the breeze from the Combe Lavaut .. thus a lovely energetic red fruit on the mid-palate. A balanced wine offering optimum ripeness offering gobs of sweet red berry fruit – generous juice – Fine+ (92 – 93p).

Last but not least of the 1er crus the Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaut St. Jacques 2015. I tasted the regular Lavaut .. there is also a Lavaut Vieilles Vignes from a plot planted in 1923 this remains to be tasted. This is a vineyard that has produced some magnificent wines in 2015 due to it’s location in connection with the Combe. Tremendously vibrant and juicy fruit very playful and energetic red mid-palate fruit .. with a fine tension from notes of red currant and pomegranate. Love the gorgeous layered red fruit – a sensual wine – Very Fine (93 – 94p).

First of the Grand Crus is the Charmes-Chambertin 2015 .. .a variable and large vineyard. This is a very fine Charmes-Chambertin made from plots that are a mix of older and younger vines. This is for me a quintessential Charmes – a generous wine, rich and quite expressive with a nice complexity. It’s a hedonistic pleasure, as with most Charmes that aim to please rather than to challenge and intrigue. I my view Charmes-Chambertin should be appreciated more for these qualities, and not always be bullied for it’s lack of complexity and structure. A Very Fine (93 – 94p) Charmes-Chambertin.

Latriciere-Chambertin is a large vineyard located between Le Chambertin and Gevrey Chambertin Aux Combottes. Latriciere require some intellectual effort to unfold … as its not taking you with charm like Griotte or with power and intensity like Chambertin or Clos de Beze. The intellectual part was apparently beyond me in the 1990s .. so the Latriciere revelation took a while for me … but believe me its well worth the effort. The Latriciere Chambertin 2015 is a delicate and well structured and very harmonious wine. The bouquet is bursting with very airy and delicate fruit interlinked with the refined and filigree earthiness. On the palate rich and effortless – very balanced indeed – with a long intensely refined finish – love the complexity and the delicacy – Very Fine+ (94 – 95p).

Talking about rare birds … Domaine Duroché Griotte-Chambertin 2015 .. this is more than rare with a production of around 80 bottles … most likely the smallest cuvee in Burgundy. The Duroché Griotte- Chambertin 2015 is another breed than the other wines in the lineup as its made fro 100% whole cluster. The nose is very expressive and organic offering forward fruit spiced with cinnamon and all spice. On the palate rich, velvet and expressive, boasting plenty of rich and ripe fruit. A gorgeous wine but do I prefer this to the Latriciere-Chambertin? .. Very Fine+ (94 – 95p).

Last but not least Chambertin Clos de Bezé in my view clearly the top wine at Domaine Duroché … although the Griotte is rare and very sexy and the Latriciere is a true beauty.

The Chambertin Clos de Bezé 2015 comes from a plot located in the central part of Clos de Bèze above Chapelle-Chambertin. This is a serious wine underlining there is no other Grand Cru in the appellation that can match Clos de Bezé and Le Chambertin. This is a large scaled wine with a firm and defined backbone. The bouquet offer delicate red and dark fruits .. fresh elements of red currant and pomegranate interlinked with the powerful minerality. On the palate layered and deep red-berry fruit – presumably a lot of millerandage berries – from the very old vines planted in 1920. It’s tremendously deep and layered – and both intense and fresh offering all the best sides of the 2015 vintage. An Outstanding (95 – 96p) wine by all standards.

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Tasting Notes for this producer

• Domaine Duroché, Latricieres-Chambertin 2014 December 29, 2017

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