TN: 1971 Gevrey Chambertin – 1er Cru – Grivelet

WINE TALK
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1971 Gevrey-Chambertin – Les Campeaux – Bernard Grivelet

This bottle was distributed by The London Wine Company Ltd – London. Bottle number 01311, drank with dinner over 90 minutes with my brother. So enjoyable from the word go. Deep strawberry red, some bricking at the rim. The sous bois nose shows spices like cinnamon and a hint of fennel. The mouthfeel is a seamless infusion of pleasure, with a fresh mineral driven spine. On a mature plateau but I am in no rush to drink my remaining bottles. The 1971 vintage continues to deliver the goods!


Bottle of 1971 Gevrey-Chambertin - 1er Cru
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Main label of 1971 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
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Excellent fill level
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Ineresting back label
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My glass of 1971 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
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Had a taste of the 71 Grivelet Amoureuses a couple of years ago and it was awesome.

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nice bottle Nicos.

it is easy to post the pictures directly to the thread by grabbing the bb code from flickr.

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Nick,
It was my first experience of Grivelet’s wines and I liked the result! I also have a bottle of 1973 Meursault that I plan to open for a friend on their 40th birthday later this year.

Suzanne, good to hear from you! thanksd for the tip. I will try this next time I post.

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Thanks for this note Nicos.
Glad to know you are drinking well.

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Don, my pleasure. Just a very decent bottle on a thursday night. I trust that all is well with you. :slight_smile:

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As am I, Nicos. Save something for me next May when I come for a visit :wink:

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Great year for Burgs, and of course people. [wink.gif]

Glad to see you and your brother are enjoying life! champagne.gif

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I wish I could predict the lottery as well as I predicted Nicos’ future wine tastes.

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Mike,
I have one or two wine surprises for you in May 2014. My tastes are evolving… :slight_smile:

Michel,
1971 is a great year. Period. :wink:

Howard,
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to this thread. You are, of course, partly correct. My wine tastes have evolved on a number of fronts since we last met.

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Nicos, I by no means want to question your palate, and if it was a great bottle I’m unable to dispute it, but the Bernard Grivelet wines from this era raised a lot of questions as to authenticity and I would be careful about acquiring any more wine with his label on it:

http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/1980/05/01/WINE_Fraud_of_the_Vine.aspx
(Put aside the writer’s misspelling – the point is that Grivelet was committing fraud)

http://www.foodreference.com/html/art-wine-frauds.html

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Wine-1615/2009/3/Marquis-d-Aulnay.htm

http://www.caseyflatranch.com/assets/pdf/BergerNewsletter.pdf

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Harry,
Thank you for your post and links. No offence taken, and it’s a shame you do not live closer otherwise we could try one of these Gevrey’s to get your view. This 1971 was really enjoyable! On this thread, others have tried Grivelet’s wines before and been impressed. Interestingly, I also have a bottle of his 1973 Meursault that I intend to open in a few weeks time for a friend.

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Glad you guys enjoyed this wine…I have been know to enjoy the odd dubious pleasure myself [basic-smile.gif] .

I have a 1971 Nederberg Cabernet to experiment with this year…luckily with excellent provenance from one of the oldest cellars in the city. It might have a fighting chance… [berserker.gif]

Cheers,
Blair

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Thanks for the very generous offer, Nicos. It’s been a very long time since I had a 1971 Burg, but I do recall a few epiphany wines from that year – the best being the 71 La Tache. I will be very interested to hear about the 1973 Meursault. Is it a red or a white? I’d be very surprised to hear that any village Meursault from that vintage was a pleasant drink, regardless of color or producer, but you never know until you try one!

Cheers,

Harry

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Blair,
We have all had dubious pleasure. I just go with the flow. :slight_smile:

Harry,
The Meursault is white and looks in very good condition. 1973 was an underrated vintage in Burgundy (Germany too) and I had never been let down by the bottles I have drunk.

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Nicos,

What you say is encouraging to hear. I’m firmly in the camp of those who say that the talk of even basic Burgundy’s lack of longevity and its fragility is nonsense, but even I would be surprised to learn that a 1973 village Meursault would still provide a pleasing drinking experience, even if it came from Robert Ampeau’s arctic cellars. If I may ask, when was the last time you tried one?

As for 1973 in Germany, I agree the vintage was overlooked as the best of a very spotty patch of vintages between the glorious 1971s and the underrated but great 1975s. Still, wines of the kind that were made in 1973 might well age nicely because of the presence of residual sugar, whereas I would be concerned that the natural oxidation process for a white village Meursault from 1973 would leave me with a wine lacking any charm today.

Cheers,

Harry

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Harry,

Thanks for your response. This will be my first 1973 village Meursault. However, my experience (and perhaps yours) would lead me to deduce that “village” wines sometimes contain wine from more superior vineyards. Bottles of village Puligny and Chassagne bottled by Berry Brothers of London from 1964 have astounded me and those who have tried them in the last 3 years with me for their quality and youth. I am cautiously optimistic for the 1973 Meursault, given its visually excellent provenance. With the white wines possibly being picked earlier in the past and therefore having relatively higher natural acidities than perhaps current bottlings, I have my fingers crossed. Also could sulphur levels have been higher back then to slow the oxidation process?

Cheers,

Nicos

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And then there are those who just are a dubious pleasure. And while it would be the height of uncouthness to mention any particular wine-loving, Arsenal-supporting, Kristin Scott Thomas-idolizing Cypriot by name, I’m sure we can all think of a few living embodiments of this idea. [grin.gif]

Maluhia,

Mike

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You might think that. I could not possibly comment. [wink.gif]

A bientot,

Nicos