It is rare to find three generations of winemakers together. Domaine Lafarge until Michel’s passing earlier this year, but few others spring to mind. When Jean Trapet, attired in casquette and obligatory mask, joined his son Jean-Louis and grandson Pierre then I had to gather them together (with social distancing) and take a photo that shall be called “Triple Trapet”. This Gevrey producer located bang on the RN74 hit a purple patch in recent vintages. One of the longest advocates and practitioners of biodynamics, Trapet have raised quality in recent vintages and expanded their portfolio. It is clear that Pierre will give them even more impetus and new ideas. For example, when discussing their introduction of Échalas training [bush vines] in 4-5 hectares on the deeper soils on the lower reaches, Pierre revealed how he persuaded his father to bottle the Gevrey-Chambertin Les Combettes separately from 2020.

“We harvested from 18 September. I remember the date because it was Pierre’s birthday," Jean-Louis told me. “There were 22 days of picking, finishing with the Chapelle-Chambertin. Now we are using smaller cagettes, around 6-7 kilos, which enable us to inspect the incoming fruit more carefully and identify which bunches are suitable for keeping the stems. There are good pH levels and maturity, yet the wines remain Burgundian. Maturation came slowly during the growing season, an accretion of tannins that enhanced quality. The tannins are very supple. In terms of acidity, we found generally three times as much tartaric acid compared to malic. Yields were around 35hl/ha for the Premier and Grand Crus and 40 to 42hl/ha for the Village Cru, a little lower than in 2018. We used Stockinger foudres, around 60%, for the Bourgogne Blanc and Marsannay Blanc that I feel enhances the harmony of the wines.”

The 2019s from Domaine J-L Trapet are marvellous. The 2019 Latricières-Chambertin is one of the best that I have encountered from barrel with the hubris to outflank even their excellent Chambertin. What I really appreciate is quality in the Premier Cru level in vineyards such as Clos Prieur and a Petite-Chapelle that I would love to juxtapose against Dugat-Py’s once in bottle. Biodynamics have never influenced a single review that I have ever written. The fact is that what counts lies in the glass, and in the glass Trapet’s wines not only shine, but they are achieving increasing levels of profundity.

2020 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru

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