Like many of you, I have been taking more time of late to find good alternatives to the growing number of burgundies that are quickly rising out of reach in terms of both price and quantity. With a watchful eye and some experience, I have found more than one “good substitute” for that which is no longer available. But tonight I had something truly world class- a spectacular Chambertin Clos de Beze plucked from a local store shelf. An entire 6 pack actually, and for less than the going rate of a single bottle of the 2017 Rousseau version with which I think this wine can be fairly compared qualitatively (not based on this specific vintage admittedly, but on past experience with a number of Rousseau vintages of the wine going back to 1969.)
It just goes to show that while the investor/collector market does get it right in some respects when annointing new champions, the non-scholarly methodology applied can, and does, miss quite a few gems along the way. And make no mistake, the wine I had tonight is a real gem. It is not only a great and majestic grand cru, but it has that “it” factor that tells you it will not only be an objectively great wine in time- but that you are really going to love drinking it. The only other recent comparison I have along those lines is 2015 Rousseau Clos de la Roche- though this one is going to need some cellar time where the Rousseau may well, as Burghound predicted, be approachable its entire life.
2017 Bouchard Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
good deep rich red-purple color, on the nose ripe dark cherries heavily infused with flowing mineral tones, raw saddle leather and dark spices, slight hints of black plum and cassis, on the palate the initial rush of bursting black cherries quickly gives way to a primary buttery fruit of exceptional breadth and depth loaded with silky tannins and racy mineral tones, a sensation of crushed berries at the onset of a fine long finish, the oak presence is noticeable but well integrated and enhances the great majesty of the wine’s presentation, with time a wild blackberry note develops as the growing array of spices intensifies, length to burn, great promise here for a dazzling future.
That I could not say as I do not have experience with Damoy. If I had to make comparisons with examples I do know- and here considering Chambertin as well- I would say there are two. For me it most closely resembles Rousseau Clos de Beze for its detailed expression, though it does not have that really intense sauvage that Rousseau does where you get beyond leather notes and into coffee grounds and wet animal hair. From a fruit perspective, there is some resemblance to Denis Mortet for breadth and purity mostly, and sheer power to a lesser degree.
If I had to generally rank it based on the totality of my experience with Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Beze producers that still exist today- I would place it on a level with Mortet Chambertin, or just behind Rousseau Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Beze and Leroy Chambertin, just ahead of Faiveley and Gelin Chambertin Clos de Beze (the old school versions), and definitively ahead of all the others I have tried.
Just opened a brilliant 2012 Trapet. Along with Rossignol Trapet, it seems that the gaps are narrowing and there is a lot of really superb wines coming out of the vineyards.
Trapet are really doing exciting things in the vineyards. Jean-Louis children are getting more and more involved and he himself seems to have more energy every time I visit. Time to stock up!
I have found some older Trapets from the 1970s and 1980. I have not tried any, so although I keep hearing the wines have improved, not sure how poor they were. Any insights?
Rossignol-Trapet makes a very nice and relatively well-priced Chambertin but I don’t think they make Clos de Beze. Does Trapet - since their holdings are basically the same as that of RT (holdings were split up between two different parts of the same family) I would be surprised if they do. That said, the Trapet 2017 Chambertin was spectacular.
No , it is straight Chambertin. I have never really differentiated that much between the Beze and straight Chambertin, because having tasted several Rousseau pairs side by side, I recognized that they were different, but never got a Beze signature which I would then be able to use in a blind tasting.