2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

Bertrand Dugat, who is obsessed with picking fresh fruit and is not concerned about producing cru bottlings with the high alcohol that some consumers have come to expect, began harvesting on September 17 in 2016, which he described as “the earliest in Gevrey-Chambertin by three days.” The estate’s Bourgogne was virtually wiped out by frost, and the estate gave up its biodynamic practices to treat their vines against mildew in ’16. Still, overall estate production was down 50% from a normal year. Potential alcohol levels were typically just 12.3% for the grand crus and lower for the premier crus (the Bourgogne came in at 11%), and Dugat did not chaptalize.

Dugat told me that he’s only now seeing the terroir differences between his various ‘16s. As was my initial impression when I tasted the estate's ‘14s from barrel, I found the ‘16s to be quite tight but decidedly lean, not to mention a bit mute. Dugat noted that in his very cold, deep cellar, the wines during winter are showing their acids and tannins but not their fruit. I should note that I found Dugat’s ’14s similarly tough to taste (and low in alcohol) but eventually scored them higher when I sampled them from bottle. Still, it strikes me that a riper, typically fleshier vintage like 2015 is more conducive to Dugat’s light touch, although even these wines were bottled with no more than 12.5% alcohol. Dugat describes the ‘15s as “like a combination of 2009 and 2010, with red and black fruits and good acidity despite a bit of hydric stress in some parts of Gevrey-Chambertin.” All of the wines I tasted in January were aged in 100% new oak, but Dugat told me that he cut back a bit on the new wood in 2017.