2022 Chambertin Grand Cru

“I was happy to have 2022 after 2021 – such a different vintage,” Louis Trapet tells me in the tasting room, his father Jean-Louis busying himself around the office - a sign that the reins are being handed over to the next generation. He works alongside his brother Pierre, who is based in Alsace, though together they run a négoce label, and you’ll find a couple of reviews in this report. “It was more ‘quiet’ in the vineyard. The year started well with a cold January. Then the temperature went up and up so that February was 2° Celsius more than usual, and there was just a little frost on April 4 when it was -4° Celsius. We knew we had to manage the pruning differently, so we pruned late, and the buds suffered little damage. Afterwards, it was hot, with mi-floraison on June 1. We had heavy rain around June 23, with between 80mm of rain in the Grand Crus, whereas north of Gevrey, it was between 120mm and 150mm. I was in Clos Prieur with my dad, and we saw the storm coming. We thought it was OK, and then five minutes later… It was incredible. It was quite scary. I saw a truck on the Grand Cru road that was almost marooned in the water. Fortunately, we did not have too much soil erosion. Then it was sunny and dry from April to August, the second driest year after 2003 since 1947. We had 370 hours of sun instead of 290 from April to September. We started picking on September 5 to 16 and finished with the Aligoté on September 23. Alcohol is between 12.5% and 13.5%, which is not so high, with good acidity levels and pH between 3.25 and 3.35. If you have a higher pH, the fermentation is a little slower, and you risk the yeast not eating all the sugar and spoilage. In a few tanks, the malo started during the alcoholic fermentation, possibly due to an imbalance of yeast and bacteria on the grapes. I think I can find the terroir in 2022 more than in 2021.”

This was another wonderful set of wines from a Gevrey producer that has realized its full potential in recent vintages. Though the Chapelle-Chambertin has the audacity to potentially swipe the crown from their Chambertin this year, I’d personally make a beeline for their over-achieving Gevrey-Chambertin La Petite Chapelle and Clos Prieur.