2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Village

Woof! Woof! There are usually the first two words that I hear whenever I visit Sylvie Esmonin, her two hounds racing around her garden that just happens to be Clos Saint-Jacques. On a blissful sunny morning, leaves aglow with golden and amber hues, I could have just soaked in the famous vineyard all morning watching them play hide ‘n seek between the rows. But there are wines to taste!

“We picked from September 14-18, starting with the Côtes de Nuits Village, then the Gevrey Vieilles Vignes, finishing with the Bourgogne Rouge as it is in a less favorable location and needs longer to ripen. The yields are 42 hl/ha, except the Clos Saint-Jacques at 36 hl/ha due to the older vines, and this was the only cuvée chaptalized by half a degree. They are between 12.7% and 13.0% alcohol. It is a vintage with freshness and crunchy fruit without sur-maturité. There are now four vintages like that: 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024 that are picked in September instead of August. The wines were racked ten days earlier and matured in 30% new oak. The wines will be bottled in February or March, depending on the temperatures.”

This was a fine quintet of 2023s, fashioned in a slightly richer style than, say, Rousseau or Clair, wines that deserve several years in bottle. That said, I feel that Esmonin imparted a little more finesse this vintage, each demonstrating purity of fruit that bodes well for the future.