Gevrey Chambertin Burgundy Wine Tasting 2004
The Reds of the Tasting

For the reds, all four were from the Gevrey Chambertin region. This appellation of the Côte de Nuits section of Burgundy makes only red wines, i.e. only pinot noir. They make around 2.3 million bottles a year.

The first two reds were from Domaine Christian Serafin. This is a relatively recent house, started in 1947. Christian's father, Stanislaw, was a Polish immigrant who settled in France after the war. They only have 10 acres or so of vines, but some are 80 or more years old. The winery is very organic in its outlook. They do leave 30% of stems on the fruit - controversial in Burgundy because many wineries always leave 100% of stems on for added tannin. The issue is that the stems can sometimes add a green, harsh flavor to the wine. They are also active pigagers - i.e. breaking up the cap that naturally forms on the top of the fermenting wine. They ferment at up to 35C which is very warm.

2002 Gevrey Chambertin 'Vielles Vignes' $70
This was the favorite red at our table. It comes from three different vineyard sites and is in the northern end of the Cote de Nuit. The production is tiny - 2 acres - and is done in 100% new oak. It had a gorgeous aroma of flowers, spice and currant. It had a nice body and medium to light tannins. The flavors were soft spice including cinnamon and a medium finish.

We had this with salmon medallions with rice, which was nice but some found fishy tasting. The wine was a little heavy for this. Next, we had small filet mignon pieces wrapped in strudel with a thick red wine syrup.

2002 Gevrey Chambertin 'Les Corbeaux' $75
This region is at the tail end of the Grand Cru section of Gevrey Chambertin. It was a combination of tannins and juicy tartness, without any real flavors to stand out. This is a wine that needs to age for a while before its true flavors emerge.

Carole talked about how Christian believed in low yields for his vines, so that they suffered and truly put the best effort into each grape that formed.

Main Burgundy Tasting Page
Maison Henri Boillet notes
Domaine Christian Serafin notes
Domaine Claude Dugat notes
Max's Restaurant for Dessert

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