Red Burgundy is classically a study in finesse and understatement. Pinot Noir’s thin skin and clear juice enable remarkable subtlety, and at their best, Red Burgundies can be hauntingly beautiful. They’re rarely the loudest voice in the room, but often the most impressive. But as with most rules, there are exceptions.
Town that produces the boldest, most intense expressions of red Burgundy is Gevrey-Chambertin. And even among wines from Gevrey, the Domaine des Varoilles style is concentrated and rich. The winemakers harvest relatively late, and use a long cold soak to extract loads of flavor and texture from their grapes. The resulting wines are distilled, dark, and delicious.
Today we’re suggesting a 2018 premier cru Gevrey-Chambertin from Varoilles, and one that you won’t soon forget.
Varoilles’s Gevrey Premier Cru Champonnet is a stunner in 2018. We usually bypass this wine for the domaine’s more famous monopoles of La Romanée and Varoilles — but this year it was impossible to pass up. The nose is sleek and muscly, with sweet oak notes mixing with blackcurrant fruit and chocolate. The mouth is long and gorgeous with notes of cassis and gingerbread, and a rippling current of seductive tannins.
Burghound was similarly impressed, finding “very good volume,” and a “powerful” pallet, “rich and caressing” with a “suave texture.” This wine has many happy years ahead of it, but the ripe fruit from a warm year make it enjoyable even today. Carafe it for a half hour while your roast lamb finishes in the oven.
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Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin
1er cru “Champonnet” 2018
bottle price: $88
FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES
