2000 Gevrey-Chambertin Petite Chapelle 1er Cru

Bernard Dugat, who made spectacular wines in both 2001 and 2000, told me that vintage 2001 featured riper skins than 2000 but somewhat lower grape sugars: typically 12.2% to 12.4%, vs. 13% the previous year. Dugat's yields are among the lowest on the Cote de Nuits, and his tireless work in the vines has enabled him to shorten his cuvaisons and reduce his extraction and punchdowns since 1999. He purchased a new pneumatic press for the 2001 harvest, and he believes the gentler press has given the 2001 tannins more finesse. Once Dugat's grapes are in the cuves the wines are never pumped. But Dugat noted that some Burgundies that are tired from harsh handling actually taste better early "because their structure has been broken." All of the 2001s noted below were aging in 100% new barrels in November. Dugat told me his wines are better in the bottle than they are when tasted from barrel due to his very gentle bottling and low levels of free sulfur.

Two thousand was an even riper vintage than '99, said Bernard Dugat. More important, he added, the wines are more harmonious, with more flesh to buffer the tannins. Dugat told me he picked early in 2000 to keep healthy acidity levels; still, grape sugars were mostly in the 12.4% to 12.8% range, and little chaptalization was needed. Like many of his colleagues who originally attracted attention by making big, dark, extracted wines, Dugat says he using "less and less technique today, less intervention in the cuverie " preferring instead to do more work in the vines. The 2000s here are muscular wines in the Dugat style, but not at all heavy.