Favorite Sites

The landscape is magnificent, and some signs will help the visitor locate each vineyard. However, unlike the Bordeaux vineyards, the scale seems much smaller, and the secrets a bit more hidden. Without some guidance, it is almost impossible to know exactly which proprietor owns a vineyard parcel. The small towns of Burgundy will welcome you, and in the celebrated towns you will find scattered wine merchants whose doors will be open and who will offer some help, but the wise visitor makes arrangements in advance. It will help you enormously to decide, first, which towns you wish to drive through, and where you want to stop and get a personal idea of the vineyards and the growing and production process from a local producer.

That will take some advance planning. Fortunately, most (but not all) Burgundy wine estates welcome visitors, but a prior appointment is usually required. When you have made your arrangements, it will probably also be possible to buy wines at the estate. Respect the customary long French lunch hour, and try not to schedule your visit for an inconvenient moment, such as harvest time, and you will surely have a warm welcome throughout the Cote d’Or. I will include addresses, telephone and FAX numbers for the properties suggested.

Unlike the Bordeaux area, however, it is a rare Burgundian wine estate that has a website and the convenience of email. (The large houses in Beaune are an exception to this rule.) Even the famous Domaine de la Romanee Conti in Vosne-Romanee is not an exception. In summer 2002, for example, I used a website search engine to try to locate “DRC,” and all that came up with was “Democratic Republic of the Congo,” which is hardly the same thing.

While visiting Gevrey-Chambertin, take some time to visit the byways of the town and its vineyards. There are a number of superior premier crus here, such as Clos Saint-Jacques, Les Cazetiers, Etournelles, and Combe au Moine. They tend to come from the slope above the village itself, before you get to the grand crus. In some years, they approach the far pricier grand crus in quality. This would be a fine walk after a luncheon in town. Just go along the hillside road and seek out these excellent vineyards, for your own personal discovery. They are very much worth seeking out, and are usually available for half the price or less of the grand cru. Do not let the best be the enemy of the good. There is also an ocean of “village appellation” Gevrey-Chambertin wine, mostly from the flat area below the hillsides.

All things considered, in getting to know Chambertin wines you might wish to get a first impression of their flavors with this less expensive, village appellation. I have done this with Gevrey-Chambertin wines bottled by both Domaine Leclerc and Bouchard. Buy three bottles, then try them a few months apart, and see how your taste develops. These will be ready to drink far earlier than the grand crus. I noted they were perfect for drinking just three years after their vintage date, when the far more expensive grand and premier crus would still have been in their infancy.
The classified wines of Gevrey-Chambertin are expansive, full-bodied wines. That may be why the Emperor Napoleon, no wine connoisseur, is said to have enjoyed his glass of Chambertin cut with water! These wines often have a fruit taste. I have always thought the Griotte-Chambertin, for example, did have a very pleasant, deep cherry taste, justifying the wine’s name, for griotte is said to refer to a type of cherry. I greatly enjoyed a bottle of 1988 Jadot Chapelle-Chambertin five years after its bottling, which was probably a bit early, for my notes read “deep, but still oaky.” Its wonderful raspberry flavor was apparent, a pleasure to drink. I have had earlier Chambertins, including the landmark 1969 made by Alexis Lichine. Drunk eight years after bottling, it was “a mellow, assertive burgundy with a fine bouquet.” A 1983 Chambertin by Quillardet was similarly rich and enjoyable.

For your visit in Geverey-Chambertin, I’ll start with one of my favorite producers: the Domaine Armand Rousseau, at 1, rue Aumonerie, 21220 Gevrey-Chambertin (telephone: 03-80-34-30-55: FAX 03-80-58-50-25).  The preponderance of Rousseau’s holdings are in Gevrey-Chambertin, and include a number of the grand crus, such as Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Beze. Rousseau is well regarded by his fellow vintners, and I have been told by authorities in other communes of the Côte d’Or that Armand Rousseau’s Chambertin wines are to be relied upon for quality.

Here are three other fine producers who are located at Gevrey-Chambertin (several have acreage in other parts of the Cote d’Or as well): The Domaine Drouhin-Larose, 20 rue Gaizot, 21220 Gevrey-Chambertin (telephone: 03-80-34-31-49: FAX 03-80-51-83-70), for example, has fine properties not only in Gevrey-Chambertin (at Chambertin-Clos de Beze, Latricières-Chambertin, Mazi-Chambertin and Chapelle-Chambertin), but at Clos de Vougeot as well. Bourée Père et Fils, at 13 route de Beaune, 21220 Gevrey-Chambertin (telephone: 03-80-34-30-25: FAX 03-80-58-50-25), produces a spectrum of largely premier cru offerings from Gevrey-Chambertin and throughout the Côte de Nuits. The Domaine Pierre Damoy, at 11, rue Marechale De Lattre de Tassigny, 21220 Gevrey-Chambertin (telephone: 03-80-34-30-47: FAX 03-80-58-54-79) has the largest single holding of Chambertin-Clos de Beze.

In Morey-St.-Denis, the Route des Grands Crus marks a dividing line between grand and premier cru vineyards. On the left hand side of the road, driving south, one passes Les Charrieres, Les Millandes, Les Ruchots, and other well regarded premier crus. On the right, towards the sloping hillside, the grands crus are to be found. You will want to turn right at the village and proceed north for a mile or so to discover Clos de la Roche and Clos St.-Denis. The other three grands crus, Clos des Lambrays, Clos de Tart and Bonnes Mares, are found straight ahead on the Route des Grands Crus as one continues south through the little town.

Perhaps Bonnes Mares, the major portion of which lies across the town border in Chambolle-Musigny, is the best known of these grand crus. Morey-St.-Denis used to be known for its comparative bargains. That can hardly be said when a bottle 1999 Ponsot Clos de la Roche vielles vignes now retails for $169. You can still locate excellent premiers crus in the $40-$50 range, but the age of bargains appears to be over. I still fondly recall a bottle of Armand Rousseau’s 1983 Clos de la Roche. A leading point scorer had given that bottle a mediocre 78. I recall it with delight as “one of the best bottles of Burgundy I’ve ever had.” The wines of this region are not quite as deep as those of Gevrey-Chambertin. They are also not as subtle as the wines of neighboring Chambole-Musigny to the south. They are assertive, and seem to occupy a middle ground, not unlike St. Julien in the Medoc, lying between Pauillac and Margaux. At their best, they are distinctive, and second to none. Serve a fine Morey-St. Denis with your Sunday roast and watch the wine being tentatively sipped, then a further appreciative drink, as the conversation stops. Then hear the talk begin once again, with compliments on the wine you have offered. “And what is this discovery of yours?” the Bordeaux lovers will say.

A good place to stop at Morey-St. Denis would be the Domaine Ponsot, 21 rue Montagne, 21220 Morey-St. Denis (email, info@domaine-ponsot.com: telephone: 03-80-34-32-46: FAX 03-80-58-51-70). The reliable Domaine Dujac is at 7, rue La Brossiere, 21220 Morey-St. Denis (telephone 03-80-34-01-00: FAX 03-80-34-01-09). You might also contact the Domaine Serveau, 37 Grande Rue, 21220 Morey-St. Denis (telephone 03-80-34-33-07: FAX 03-80-58-50-27), or try the Societe Nouvelle Domaine des Lambrays, rue Basse, 21220 Morey-St. Denis (telephone 03-80-51-84-33: FAX 03-80-51-81-97), which is attempting to raise the fortunes of this grand cru.

We will continue our wine tour of Burgundy soon with a detailed look at Chambolle-Musigny and the Clos de Vougeot.

Domaine Armand Rousseau
1, rue Aumonerie
21220 Gevrey-Chambertin
Tel: 03-80-34-30-55
Fax 03-80-58-50-25

Domaine Drouhin-Larose
20 rue Gaizot
21220 Gevrey-Chambertin
Tel: 03-80-34-31-49
Fax 03-80-51-83-70

Bouree Pere et Fils
13 route de Beaune
21220 Gevrey-Chambertin
Tel: 03-80-34-30-25
Fax: 03-80-58-50-25

Domaine Pierre Damoy
11, rue Marechale De Lattre de Tassigny
21220 Gevrey-Chambertin
Tel: 03-80-34-30-47
Fax 03-80-58-54-79

Domaine Ponsot
21 rue Montagne
21220 Morey-St. Denis
email: info@domaine-ponsot.com
Tel: 03-80-34-32-46
Fax 03-80-58-51-70

Domaine Dujac
7, rue La Brossiere
21220 Morey-St. Denis
Tel: 03-80-34-01-00
Fax: 03-80-34-01-09

Domaine Serveau
37 Grande Rue
21220 Morey-St. Denis
Tel: 03-80-34-33-07
Fax: 03-80-58-50-27

Societe Nouvelle Domaine des Lambrays
rue Basse
21220 Morey-St. Denis
Tel: 03-80-51-84-33
Fax: 03-80-51-81-97

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Bill Shepard is Bonjour Paris's wine editor, and the author of Shepard's Guide to Mastering French Wines: Taste Is for Wine: Points Are for Ping Pong.