2006 Gevrey Chambertin Petite Chapelle

Good full red. Spicy red fruits, pepper and a suggestion of iron on the nose. Suppler and sweeter than the Coeur du Roi, with an enticing juicy quality to its red fruit, leather and red licorice flavors. Finishes with building tannins and excellent length. Ultimately more pliant than the village wine but needs time.

Red-ruby. Blackberry, mocha, coffee and licorice on the nose. Fatter and thicker than the premier cru but not as pretty today. With a bit less life in the middle, this comes across as less fruity, with more Gevrey smokiness. Finishes with noticeable tannins. Incidentally, Dugat told me that the strip of vineyards stretching from Chambertin to Petite Chapelle was the most affected by hail in 2006.

Bernard Dugat reports having had to pick and sort berry by berry to avoid the effects of decimating hail in his 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin Petite Chapelle. This painstaking and delicate operation was clearly successful. Kirsch and framboise distillates shadow their fresh fruit counterparts, while dark suggestions of decadent forest floor, peat, and game lend striking and mysterious aromatic and palate complexity. A hint of caramel from the barrel is well-integrated (though otherwise, the 100% new wood on Dugat's crus is scarcely noticeable.) This is dense but refined in tannin, full of energy, and positively buoyant. An already sensational concentration is underscored by black peppery pungency, tart berry skin chew, and the further invigoration of salts and tactile mineral impingements, leading to a finish that is glass-shattering in its four-alarm smokiness and urgency. This should prove amazing wine to follow over the next 12-15 years. ||As usual, Bernard Dugat prided himself on having been able to harvest ahead of the ban de vendange thanks to the intensity of his vineyard labors and to yields of around 25 hectoliters per hectare. (He also credits the accumulated effects of three years on a biodynamic regimen.) Potential alcohol was for the most part in the high 12s, and only a handful of cuvees were lightly chaptalized, Dugat reports. As usual, too, he employed significant percentages of whole clusters and stems in most wines. For further details on Bernard Dugat's approach, see my report in issue 170. Perhaps it hardly requires noting, but the prices of these wines continue to rise relentlessly, sadly but perhaps inevitably putting them out of the reach of most Burgundy lovers. And unfortunately, I did not get an opportunity to taste the two red appellation Bourgogne bottlings of this estate. Wine Advocate.December, 2009