2012 Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes

From several parcels of 40 to 80-year old vines, the 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes has a fragrant bouquet with scents of redcurrant jam and raspberry preserve. The palate is medium-bodied with a crisp raspberry and strawberry opening. The tannins seem quite firm, lending the finish a sense of structure and slight austerity, though clean and fresh. This is a little conservative, but very well crafted. I remember visiting Domaine Rossignol-Trapet on my very first foray into Burgundy in 1997 and having followed their wines closely ever since, it was good to return, albeit briefly, to taste through their 2012s. During that period, the biggest change has been David and Nicolas Rossignol’s conversion to biodynamics in 2004, a process that was being trialed during that first visit. They told me that they have fine-tuned their vinification in accordance, for example, using less pigeage than they once did, and this has resulted in a finer, more nuanced set of wines in recent years. Here, the harvest commenced on 27 September and finished on 4 October. Hail reduced their Beaune vineyards’ production by around 20% and their older vines suffered millerandage, though they found that the premier crus held up fine. I have always felt that their wines are a little under-rated by cognoscenti. While over the road, Denis Bachelet has perhaps unintentionally propagated a zealous, almost feverish following for his wines, Rossignol-Trapet perhaps has a more commercial bent and that used to be reflected in their good, but rarely great wines. Yet in the last three or vintages, so they have fine-tuned their style: ratcheted up a few levels towards, if not equal to that of Denis Bachelet and the village’s top tier of producers. Time to give these fine wines another look if you have not done so recently. Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400 and through various UK merchants including Bibendum and Justerini & Brooks.

A more complex nose offers up aromas of underbrush, wild red berries, lavender and sauvage hints. There is good phenolic maturity to the supporting tannins that shape the medium-bodied flavors that terminate in a somewhat austere but persistent finish. This is very Gevrey in basic character. Tasted: Jan 15, 2014. Drink: 2018+