2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Champ

“I just remember it was very easy,” a nonchalant Pierre Duroché tells me when I dropped in at his winery in Gevrey-Chambertin just before the 2024 harvest, ominous slate grey clouds threatening another deluge above our heads. “We had the right amount of water in summer so there was no hydric stress. There was a good quantity of grapes, but it was very homogenous in the vineyard, each vine with six or seven bunches in average. When you looked at the vineyard, it actually didn’t look like a huge harvest. We commenced the picking on September 5 with the Griotte-Chambertin and the other parcels the following day. The average yield was higher than previous vintages, around 35-40 hl/ha. Everything was ripe, the balance was good. I was just concerned about the warmth around harvest-time which would have made it more similar to 2018. But in barrel, the wines have become more elegant and classic in style. We bought new barrels and invested in ceramic vats which we used for the Cazetiers, the others a mixture between ceramic and traditional barrels. We just use carbonic to protect the wine instead of SO2 and plan to bottle in December.”

Duroché has overseen 2023s that are pretty, transparent, and more slender than his 2022s, yet one must always factor their proclivity to gain substance with aeration. Indeed, I have seen many times when the wine has been dismissed on first pour, only to find it completely transformed after an hour. These are not grippy, powerful wines and they will appeal less to those seeking sweet fruit, obvious flavors and instant gratification. But they express their respective terroirs beautifully and there is real complexity amongst his best cuvées.