2012 Chambolle-Musigny Les Gruechers 1er Cru

Domaine Dujac's 2012 are mostly terrific, especially at the top end, although a number of wines present elements of reduction, that quite frankly, I would prefer not to see. Still, there is no question the best wines in this range are every bit as thrilling as they were from barrel, while the top of the pyramid is full of wines that represent the pinnacle of excellence in Burgundy.

Domaine Dujac's 2012 are mostly terrific, especially at the top end, although a number of wines present elements of reduction, that quite frankly, I would prefer not to see. Still, there is no question the best wines in this range are every bit as thrilling as they were from barrel, while the top of the pyramid is full of wines that represent the pinnacle of excellence in Burgundy.

"The grape skins developed good tannins in 2012," said Jeremy Seysses."There was very good phenolic ripeness and we didn't feel that we needed to wait any longer to harvest.Plus, with our clonal material, our grapes are simply riper."Grape sugars were in the range of the 12% to 12.8% for the premier crus and very little chaptalization was called for.This is a splendid vintage in the making chez Dujac, with the high percentage of whole-cluster fermentation clearly supported by the wines' ripe fruit.Of course, tiny yields were critical in 2012:20 to 25 hectoliters per hectare for most of the grand crus owing to the high percentage of millerande vines, according to Seysses, and just 19 for the Chambertin.The malos had finished in August and the wines were racked in September.Incidentally, Dujac never does much post-fermentation maceration."Here the polymerization of tannins happens in barrel," Seysses explained.

There isn't much to say about the 2012s at Dujac except that they are magnificent. The low yields of the vintage helped create the conditions for a set of rich, textured wines that with one or two exceptions are highly expressive to site. Jeremy Seysses is one of many winemakers who believe the loose architecture of the clusters was a key element in staving off diseases and keeping the fruit healthy. Of course, even that was not enough to compensate for a poor flowering and the subsequent millerandage (shot berries) that claimed 30-50% of the crop. As always, Seysses opted for a fairly high level of whole clusters in vinification. Across the board, this is one of the most impressive collections of 2012s I tasted in Burgundy. These are also some of the most structured 2012s readers will come across, so patience is going to be key. Readers should also note the Dujac Fils & Père négoce wines are reviewed separately.