We have rambled on many times over the year about what a cruel mistress Burgundy can be. High prices, small quantities, tie-in buys, vintage variation, bottle variation, there are multiple reasons to stay away. But in the end, our ‘love’ for the wines keeps us coming back. Our game however is to look in places where most others won’t look, armed with our knowledge of the subject and our tenacious never ending search for special ‘situations’ where the producer, vintage, price and bottle condition all fall into line. As they say, ‘seek and ye shall find’. We do seek and we do find though sometimes we have to ‘kiss a lot of frogs’ to find a star.
Vintage knowledge is particularly important here. The 2000 and 2001 vintages have been excellent sources for surprising Burgundy gems over the years. Sandwiched between two very flashy and critically ordained vintages (1999 and 2002), and a bit reticent out of the gate, these very good, classic vintages were virtually ignored by those acknowledged as ‘Burgundy collectors’. We have been plucking little jewels from those vintages for years and now they are hitting a lovely stride.
Our topic today is the Roche de Bellane Geverey ChambertinPetite Chapelle 2000 which we purchased direct from a source in Burgundy. Petite Chapelle is located in a very exclusive neighborhood right below the Chapelle Chambertin Grand Cru with which it shares a border. Now 20 years old, this 1er Cru Gevrey still shows plenty of freshness to the classic dark cherry fruit but also resolved tannins and acidity and a tender, suave palate feel. It is drinking beautifully now, epitomizing everything that is so special about Gevrey, elegance, power, minerality and the essence of the soil in the finished wine.
This would have been the subject of an email offer except for that ever present issue with Burgundy in general, and older Burgundies in particular…there’s usually not a lot of wine to work with. Thanks to our rooting around to find this and bringing it in directly (eliminating a couple of steps in the ‘supply chain’), here is a gorgeous 20-year-old Gevrey 1er Cru from the seriously-under-rated 2000 vintage for under $70! That’s what you’d pay for a lot of villages bottlings from a current vintage and there’s ‘no waiting’ for it to hit its groove.