This wine represents a couple of things. It is the newest release from Gerard Raphet, highly respected vigneron based in Morey-Saint-Denis who produces from a variety of parcels in the Cotes de Nuits (Morey, Gevrey, and Vougeot). It is also a good indication of what expect from 2021. Somebody like Raphet is a good touchstone for the vintage. He has been a consistent source of engaging Burgundy for a long time and his style is supple, gentle and quite user friendly. If there is something to work with, it will show.
The 2021 vintage in Burgundy was not easy. You had to know your business. There were weather patterns early on that made this something of a vintage of perils from heat that caused the vines to sprout early and then a late frost that undid everything. Yields were greatly curtailed but what remained was good enough for those that knew how to farm and when to harvest. There’s the rub. If you want a blanket statement about the vintage, there isn’t one that is going to be accurate because there were so many bumps in the road and not everyone has the same skills.
We have access to reports describing the whole season, but in the end it’s all about what ends up in the glass. The constants are consistent quirks in the weather and dismal yields because of the early season freeze. As Frederic Mugnier is quoted as saying, “I like it when it’s difficult. It’s like the good old days…” The crazy weather tested the talents of the vintners. But there were many successes from proven performers, the difference being they were the firmer, more delicate profiles of the ‘days of old’ than the opulent examples post global warming. If you have been into Burgundy for a long time, this will be nostalgic and you’ll be right at home.
The Gerard Raphet Bourgogne Grands Champs 2021 comes from a lieu-dit that abuts villages Gevrey vineyards on three sides. It looks on a map like there was some gerrymandering around the vineyard. The vines here are 40+ years old and the soils are red clay and silt. The grapes were hand harvested and fermented via indigenous yeasts. They spent 18 months in older barrels and were bottled unfiltered and unfined.
The nose is an expressive mix of high-toned red fruits accented with some dusty minerality and emerging spice tones. There is weight and ripeness in the mouth in the form of expressive red fruits and deceptive nuance. It is decidedly and delightfully Old World with its lift and delineation and, while it isn’t necessarily going to last decades, it is a classy, elegant, more complex choice for a Pinot Noir in this price range.