The 2017 growing season was kind to the vignerons of the Côte de Nuits. Where 2016 was a high wire act, requiring vignerons to deal with threats of frost and maladies of the vines throughout the year, 2017 offered a respite from these cares. There were no extremes of weather, the season unfolded predictably, and the grapes achieved good ripeness and generous yields.
In fact, generous is a good word to describe the 2017 red Burgundies, which have trickled in steadily since last Spring. We opened many during the holiday season at the depot, and they were uniformly precocious and easy to like — taster after taster found it hard to leave the depot without taking at least one bottle to try at home.
Gevrey-Chambertin produces wines of power, and they often need time to round out and develop before they show well; but within the category, the 2017s from the Domaine de Varoilles follow the vintage style. They will be approachable young, and you can expect them to be expressive earlier than usual. The domaine has offered a Bourgogne for only a few years, but they have met with much enthusiasm among our buyers. The 2017 has nice density for a wine of its class, with good dark fruit supported by firm tannins. A bit of time in a carafe will be in order during the early months, but before long it should drink well from the time you pull the cork.
Having a monopole is a rare thing in Burgundy, but owning four of them — two village and two premier cru — is nearly unheard of. The smaller of the village monopoles is the Domaine’s Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos du Couvent,” located on the flat adjacent to the Domaine and the town center. In 2017, this wine offers ripe fruit in the nose and a medium-weight mouth supported by supple tannins. It should drink well soon with a bit of air — look for a deeply floral nose with intricate notes of spice and leather in the mouth. The larger village monopole is “Meix des Ouches,” a particularly well located parcel right next to the premier cru Champonnet. When we tasted the 2017 Meix des Ouches, it showed particularly well, with deep, dark fruit in the nose and on the palate. Burghound praised its “delicious middle-weight flavors” and found “notes of poached plum, forest floor, and a whisper of oak in the nose.” Meix des Ouches 2017 is rich and mouthfilling, and will easily provide pleasure for a decade. It’s more serious than the Couvent, and seemed closer to a premier cru than to a village wine.
Of course, the two premier cru monopoles show every bit of their pedigree. The Clos des Varoilles (pictured above at left), from a huge monopole (by Côte d’Or standards) in the heart of the village’s best stretch of premier cru terroir, is classic Gevrey: big, dense, and rich. This is muscular wine from 45 year-old vines in deep soils, and its brooding, deep character will need some time to evolve. The smaller La Romanée adjoins it (pictured above at right), but its 60+ year-old vines offer a different character. The soils here are lean and rocky, and the wine’s mineral side predominates. La Romanée is leaner, elegant more than powerful, but is just as impressive overall. Both are long and full of life – Hammel has channeled this exuberant vintage into wines of real polish and class.
At the Grand Cru level, the Domaine owns a well-located parcel in Charmes-Chambertin. The wine is impressive in the 2017 vintage, with much density and intensity. Burghound found “notably ripe aromas of dark raspberry, cassis, and spiced plum.” This is a wine that will require a few years in the cellar to show its potential, even in this early-drinking vintage. But five, ten, or fifteen years down the road, it can be expected to integrate fully and express its fine pedigree.
VAROILLES
(case prices)
Bourgogne 2017: $395
Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos du Couvent” 2017: $685
Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos du Meix des Ouches” 2017: $750
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru “La Romanée” 2017: $995
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru “Clos des Varoilles” 2017: $995
Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2017: $1,795
Gevrey-Chambertin “Meix des Ouches” 17 (6x 1.5L): $795
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru “Clos des Varoilles” 17 (6x 1.5L): $1,095
Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 17 (6x 1.5L): $1,795