Gevrey-Chambertin is at the bold, masculine end of the red Burgundy spectrum. Gevreys are still complex, beautiful Pinot Noir, but they show a rugged richness that makes them meatier than most of their neighbors.
Our producer in Gevrey takes his richness directive seriously. Gilbert Hammel of the Domaine des Varoilles farms 80+ year old vines in his extraordinary premier cru monopole in Gevrey-Chambertin.
And if the richness from the vines, the winemaker, and the appellation weren’t enough, today’s offer is for his signature wine from 2015, one of the best in a generation. If you think of Burgundy as lacking intensity or richness, you’ve never had this wine.
The 2015 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru “Clos des Varoilles” is a powerhouse of a red Burgundy. Grown in a 6 hectare vineyard (enormous by Burgundy standards), the wine shows grand-cru level intensity. Our notes show dark cassis fruit in the nose, along with licorice and gingerbread spices. In the mouth is enormous and very long — the tannins are bold and bursting, a sign that the wine will live for decades to come.
Allen Meadows (Burghound) agreed with our assessment, awarding 91-93 points and finding a nose of “plum, anise, floral and earth aromas,” with “excellent size, weight and concentration” and “big-bodied and powerful flavors.”
This might not be the world’s subtlest red Burgundy, but it’s an extraordinary amount of wine distilled into a single bottle. And it’s awfully fun.
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Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru
Monopole “Clos des Varoilles” 2015
bottle price: $125 $108
FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES
