2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieille Vignes

From north of town, a 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Champs Perrieres required a good shaking to rouse it from its reduced state, and may still not have been showing its full personality. Marrowy, meaty, and minerally in personality, compact in structure and formidably dense, this wine illustrates (as Fourrier says he intended) the carnal and stony concentration of Gevrey’s northern slopes, inherently less refined, polished, or perfumed than wines from the South side of town. The articulate and opinionated Jean-Marie Fourrier staunchly believes in the inclusion of uncrushed fruit (to among other things prolong fermentation and, he claims, diminish the efficiency of alcoholic conversion); leaving the young wines on their lees (with high CO2 retention) eighteen months before bottling; employing a mere 20% of new barrels for all wines; and applying only minimal doses of sulfur. That the property from which he sources is all owned outright, and is largely in vines of over fifty years age planted by his father or grandfather before the days of clones certainly helps explain the consistently excellent quality at this address. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

Good bright, deep red. Wilder, musky nose hints at roast coffee. Sweet on entry, then sappy and imploded in the middle, showing less fat than the Echezeaux and a more muscular texture. Ultimately much less sweet than the south-side example. Finishes with substantial building tannins.