Alain Burguet “Mes Favorites” Gevrey-Chambertin 2023

The stately Alain Burguet has been one of Gevrey-Chambertin's most respected winemakers for 25 years. He graduated from school in 1964 and began working with vines and created his first wines under his name in 1972. Alain is about two barrels high and one barrel wide. This could be seen in wines that were tannic and saturated with fruit. His style has evolved since then, the fruits and tannins in the wines have become much more elegant and softer. He is now helping his two sons, Jean-Luc and Eric, whose names can already be seen on the labels. The house owns 8 hectares from the village of Gevrey Chambertin.

Pinot Noir has very aromatic profile, very fresh acidity and low level of quaite soft tannins. The nature of Pinot Noir wine is its flavors of red berries and cherry (red sour cherries in lighter wines and cooked black cherries in bold examples). This wine matures very exating, developing notes of berry jam, violets, leather, moss and mushrooms.

Gevrey-Chambertin is the largest and most significant appellation in Côte de Nuits at the time. It only produces red wines - they are strong, with powerful tannins and aristocratically balanced. Due to the dense structure of the so-called "body", the wines are able to sustain a long life and therefore are a great investment for the future. Their bouquet is composed of red and black currants, cherries and violets that is replaced by aromas of leather, wool, ground and liquorice in more mature wines. Made in a good year, Gevrey-Chambertin wines reach their peak in 10 to 20 years.

Burgundy (Bourgogne) can be confusing because of the multiplicity of its appellations - all the small vineyards are divided between multiple producers so it can often be difficult to understand this diversity. However, it is the exact reason why the wines of Burgundy are considered to be the finest in the world. A common topic of discussion, when talking about Burgundy, is the concept of "terroir" - a unique combination of soil and climate conditions that affects the taste of wine in the appellations, making it unique to each village. Winemakers mainly use the capricious Pinot Noir and the classical Chardonnay to create true masterpieces, while Gamay and Aligote are used to make wines of a bit simpler style. Particular attention should be paid to the hierarchy of wines. First there are the regional and village wines, a step higher - the Premier Cru wines and the outstanding Grand Cru - at the top. Due the complex and inconsistent weather that can notably impact wine quality especially in bad harvest years, a very important factor here is the so called millesime - the harvest year of the grapes the particular wine is produced of, because each of these years has its own unique taste. Purchasing Burgundy wines is not easy because there are many details that should be taken into consideration - the class of the vineyard, the assessment of the manufacturer, the age of the vines, the quality of the wine as well as the millesime and, of course, the potential of ageing. The sellers play a big role here - they must be truly passionate about wine and able to offer only the best quality producers with a good reputation. That is exactly the way "Noble Wine" works!