Varoilles Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 19

Winemaker Gilbert Hammel retired after the 2019 vintage and has been replaced by Philippe Cheron, a well-established winemaker in the Côte de Nuits whose family owned the Varoilles vineyards years ago. Cheron has combined his properties under a new name, the Domaine du Couvent.

It is unquestionably a wine of Grand Cru density and intensity, if in a charming, elegant way rather than bold and muscular. Dark fruit and oak come through the nose along with an earthy minerality. Neal Martin praised its “lovely, very well defined bouquet of dark cherries, sous-bois and dark chocolate scents.”