2012 Domaine Denis Mortet, Gevrey-Chambertin, Vieilles Vignes

From 65 to 70-year old vines towards Brochon and aged in 30% new oak, the 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes has a very perfumed, floral bouquet with hints of wilted violet petals and dried quince infusing the red fruit profile. The palate is medium-bodied with a candied, very pure opening. This is very expressive and beautifully balanced with real mineralite coming towards the long finish. Feminine and endearing, this is a lovely Gevrey-Chambertin. Things are certainly changing at this domaine. When Arnaud took over I felt that the level of new oak was excessive, superfluous to requirements given the fruit bestowed by his family’s prodigious holdings. And he was refreshingly candid about this when we sat down in his offices to taste through his 2012s, where he told me that he is now dialing down the new oak in order to express the terroir. That said, there is still more new wood here that say, Armand Rousseau just round the corner, but tasting through these 2012s I would say that the wood is better assimilated than previous vintage and yes, the terroir does shine through. “The harvest began on 23 September,” Arnaud explained. “It lasted for about 9 days in Gevrey and then finishing off with the Bourgogne Rouge. We had a lot of millerandage. Everything was de-stemmed this year. We left the wine on its lees in barrel and might sulfur in two or three months. We’ll also transfer the wine in to stainless steel to marry everything together. But the end result is that we are about 40% down on average.” Importer: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400 and Fields Morris & Verdin, Justerini & Brooks, Berry Brothers & Rudd all in the UK.

One of the more expressive, layered wines in the range, the 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin (Vieilles Vignes) boasts stunning depth and pure textural richness. Dark cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, menthol and spice notes all flesh out in a supple, inviting Burgundy loaded with near-term appeal.

Healthy dark red. Wild, expressive nose combines raspberry, redcurrant, coffee, game and leather. Ripe, broad and sweet, but also with very good energy and thrust to the flavors of raspberry, milk chocolate and minerals. Really saturates the palate without leaving any impression of undue weight. The serious, ripe tannins should support slow development in bottle. "We're lucky always to have healthy levels of acidity in our Gevrey wines," noted Arnaud Mortet. A splendid village bottling.

Deep cherry red. Very dark fruited, oak spice, and a slight smoky reductive note. Rich and sweetly oaky on the palate. Rounded and velvety texture. Finesse and length. (JH)