2023 Chambertin Clos de Bèze
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Tasting notes
The 2023 Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru is often one of Pierre Duroché's strongest wines and this is no exception. Seductive hints of red fruit, bergamot and lavender emerge with time in the glass. Yes, it does actually remind me of Rousseau. The palate is medium-bodied, fleshy and caressing with supple tannins and a persistent finish. There's wonderful transparency here. This is a great success, considering the vintage. "I just remember it was very easy," a nonchalant Pierre Duroché tells me when I dropped in at his winery in Gevrey-Chambertin just before the 2024 harvest. ominous slate grey clouds threatening another deluge above our heads. "We had the right amount of water in summer so there was no hydric stress. There was a good quantity of grapes, but it was very homogenous in the vineyard, each vine with six or seven bunches in average. When you looked at the vineyard, it actually didn't look like a huge harvest. We commenced the picking on September 5 with the Griotte-Chambertin and the other parcels the following day. The average yield was higher than previous vintages, around 35-40 hl/ha. Everything was ripe, the balance was good. I was just concerned about the warmth around harvest-time which would have made it more similar to 2018. But in barrel, the wines have become more elegant and classic in style. We bought new barrels and invested in ceramic vats which we used for the Cazetiers, the others a mixture between ceramic and traditional barrels. We just use carbonic to protect the wine instead of 502 and plan to bottle in December. Duroché has overseen 2023s that are pretty, transparent, and more slender than his 2022s, yet one must always factor their proclivity to gain substance with aeration. Indeed, I have seen many times when the wine has been dismissed on first pour, only to find it completely transformed after an hour. These are not grippy, powerful wines and they will appeal less to those seeking sweet fruit, obvious flavors and instant gratification. But they express their respective terroirs beautifully and there is real complexity amongst his best cuvées.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin, Vinous
Charles Curtis MW, Decanter
More reviews and scores
The Clos de Bèze from Duroché brims with expressive blackberry fruit aromas and hints of liquorice, smoke, and saddle leather. The texture is dense with extract but perfectly balanced with a but lively and fresh acidity that gives it an effortlessly silky feel. Despite the ethereal feel, the finish goes on forever. The grapes are from the quarter-hectare of vines planted in 1920 at 14,000 vines/ha stretch the entire length of the slope and deliver phenomenal quality.
As usual, the 2023 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru is the richest, most textural wine in the range, unwinding in the glass with aromas of cherries, dark berries and plums mingled with blood orange, peonies and sweet spices. Medium to full-bodied, broad and layered, it's fleshy and seamless, with a ripe core of fruit, supple tannins and an expansive finish. This is another lovely set of wines from Pierre Duroché, emphasizing supple, sensual structures and expressive aromas. After the hailstorms of 2022, 2023 was less eventful, with warm weather punctuated by showers that alleviated any hydric stress. Harvest began on September 5, as usual with the Griotte-Chambertin. As readers may remember, Duroché has been experimenting with "tressage"—rolling vines' canopies instead of trimming them—in some parcels. In the cellar, new oak continues to make a minimal contribution, but the historic emphasis on Tonnellerie Cadus has diminished to avoid any one cooper defining the domaine style. Vinifications continue to be rather delicate, with comparatively short macerations and little in the way of pigéage. Fully renovated winery facilities, complete with a battery of made-to-measure stainless steel tanks, facilitate precision vinification, something that was a particular advantage in 2023.
About the producer
Domaine Duroché has, under Pierre Duroché, become one of the most sought-out and respected wine domaines in Gevrey-Chambertin. The wines are delicate and detailed, yet with old-vine intensity, a clear sense of place and style – and it’s easy to see why they’ve rapidly become so in-demand.