2019 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles

Before entering the crypt-like cellar of Domaine Dugat-Py, I had to congratulate Loïc Dugat-Py on his flash new tarmac courtyard and decorative shrubbery. It’s just an aesthetic improvement, yet one indicative of a Gevrey producer given new impetus by the next generation. He had kindly set up a comfortable table and chair down in the barrel cellar, making it so much easier for me to tap away on the laptop rather than balancing it between two barrels. The tasting broached the 2019s in barrel plus a selection of 2018 whites in bottle that I had not included in previous tastings. Loïc began with a summary of the growing season. “It was a very warm summer,” he started. “There were three heat waves 23-30 June, 19-27 July when it was over 40°C and the third between 25 August until 1 September with intermittent storms in between. There were storms on 16 and 17 August. We started the harvest on 9 September with the Charmes-Chambertin and we used a refrigerated unit to keep the berries cool, finishing on 17 September. The natural alcohol is between 13.0° and 13.5° with none over 14.0° and pH is between 3.10 and 3.20. We employed 60 harvesters that picked over five or six days instead of 30 harvesters over ten days because it was very warm and it kept grapes fresh. It was important to pick during a short period as the sugar levels increased so quickly. We didn’t de-leaf at all in order to protect bunches from the sun, something we have done this since 2018. We just took a few leaves off prior the harvest. The vinification was normal and there was no acidification or chaptalization. The wines are very drinkable and saline. I am planning on bottling three or four times starting in December and finishing with the Grand Crus next April.”

I remember when I began reviewing these wines over a decade ago. Though they had their admirers, personally I often found them over-oaked. I wanted to see more Pinoté in my Pinot. Loïc has certainly imbued the wines with greater tension and precision by tweaking the formula. They still adhere to his father Bernard’s style – it’s more like Loïc adjusted the lens to sharpen the picture. I find the wines much more appealing now. Given their stock of ancient vines in some of the appellation’s finest vineyards, unsurprisingly the 2019 vintage yielded some magnificent wines such as the Mazis-Chambertin, Gevrey-Chambertin Champeaux and Lavaut Saint-Jacques. Perhaps my pick might be the over-performing Gevrey La Petite-Chapelle for its captivating salinity and delineation. Following the tasting I enquired about Dugat-Py’s elusive whites. The 2019s had just been racked, but he did pull out five bottled 2018s that I have never encountered previously and impressive they are too.