The 1er crus can be conveniently split into two main groups; those that form a contigious block to the north of the village – all on the same south, south-east and east facing hillside of the combe and those to the south of the village which touch on one or more grand crus. There are three 1ers (Champonnet, Craipillot and Clos du Chapitre) that don’t fit into this scheme but rather than form arbitrary satellites they make a ‘land bridge’ between the southern and northern 1er cru groups.

Bel Air
2 hectares 65 ares. Well sited directly above Clos de Bèze and touching Ruchottes-Chambertin, only part of the vineyard is classified as 1er cru, the rest as village level. Much of Bel-Air is a relatively recent planting – 1960′s – as it was left to waste following the destructive wave of phylloxera in the late 1800′s. There is quite a list of owners in spite of the vineyard’s relatively small size, that said, there are few bottles to be found. Vougeraie (0.6 hectares) and Taupenot-Merme (0.35 hectares) seem the best known. I’ve only experience of the Vougeraie and whilst relatively expensive it is recommended.

La Boissière
45 ares. This is another vineyard where part is 1er cru and a part is village rated – we will meet several more. Way round on the northern hillside of the Combe, this is the last of the premiers, only a small extra plot of villages level La Bossière lie between it and the scrub of the hillside. South facing, this is an area that needs a warm year to reach full ripeness and always requires a later harvest. It is a monopole of Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy. The vines are less than 20 years old and, hence, the wine has been an unconvincing 1er cru – at least pre 2005 which I’ve not tasted.

Les Cazetiers
9 hectares 12 ares. Cazetiers lies against the Clos St. Jacques where the combe makes a slight turn, hence, is not so perfectly exposed as the the clos itself so is helped by riper years. Despite this, Cazetiers remains a wine of renown; earthy and meaty but with some elegance in the case of the Rousseau or Berthaut (Chézeaux metayer) wines; it also has a reputation for long life. Its relatively thin cover of soil finds no help from storms which push it ever further down the hill. Strong bottles can also be found from Bruno Clair, Louis Jadot and Serafin.

Champeaux
6 hectares and 68 ares. At the northern extreme of Gevrey, touching Brochon. The ground here shows the classic red Gevrey earth, it is also very stony and steep, hence, terraced such that many parts cannot be navigated by tractor. Typically a little cooler here than for the rest of Gevrey’s 1er crus. Bourée own a small depression which is almost completely surrounded by high walls, hence, warmer than the rest of the climat – it’s the only bottling I really know but should be considered atypical due to both its topography and its inclusion of a high percentage of stems – but it’s to my taste. Occasional bottles from Fourrier and Olivier Guyot have been good, though a single example from Tortochot disappointed.

Champitenois (or Petite-Chapelle)
4 hectares. See Petite-Chapelle.

Champonnet
3 hectares 31 ares. Within the confines of the village, this is on relatively flat land just above Fontenys and directly south of Craipillot. Domaine des Varoilles seem to be the biggest owner (69 ares) but I don’t recollect ever tasting one.

Cherbaudes
2 hectares 18 ares. A tiny vineyard that, at its highest reaches, touches on the bottom section of Mazis, and Chapelle to its southern extent. Apparently the name points to the location of a cemetary! Whether they could dig six feet under is not disclosed, but if so they would be shovelling the same red soil, infused with iron, on a base of limestone. Domaine Fourrier owns about one-third of the vineyard. Look out for both his and Lucien Boillot’s versions.

Clos du Chapître
98 ares. This is a monopole of the cellar Cooperative Viticole Union des Propriètaire de Vins. Lying directly across the road from the Clos St.Jacques on a stony ‘soil’. I’ve not yet seen a bottle.

Au Closeau
0.52 hectares. A tiny vineyard but one that is well sited – just under Mazis-Chambertin. Almost the exclusivity of Drouhin-Laroze (0.44ha) and I’ve only ever seen one.  According to Burghound, prior to 2004 it was always blended into their Gevrey 1er cru, since when it has been released unblended.  The 2005 is a good if not outstanding wine.

Combe aux Moines
4 hectares 76 ares. A well-known vineyard that is at the top and around the lip of the combe in the direction of Brochon, separated from the Clos St.Jacques by Cazetiers – it is tyically the most rustic offering of the three but would still likely rate in the top half dozen 1er cru vineyards. Thin soil and plenty of limestone are the main vineyard characteristics. Whilst Faiveley is the largest owner (1.08 ha), I like the wines of Fourrier and the meatier, heartier wine of Dominique Gallois.

Aux Combottes
4 hectares 57 ares. Equally well-known as the Combe aux Moines, not least because it is enclosed by grand crus; the Clos de la Roche, Latricières and Mazoyères-Chambertin. The people of Morey ‘suggest’ that it was never made a grand cru, because no-one from Gevrey was interested – all the owners were from Morey St.Denis. Laurent Ponsot anyway calls it Combottes-Chambertin! Part of this vineyard was even ‘uprated’ to Latricières – though comically it was a part owned by Domaine Camus – one of the least impressive producers! Talking of producers, it’s also an impressive roll-call; Leroy, Dujac, Lignier, Amiot etc., etc. which probably influences our expectations. Although no great fan of the vintage, I can easily say that the Leroy 2003 Combottes is one of the most impressive 1er cru bottles I ever tasted, built more like a triathlete than a decathlete. Probably because of the stems, I find the Dujac version a little subtler with less power. Clearly this is anyway a cut above the average Gevrey 1er cru.

Les Corbeaux
3 hectares and 21 ares. Often described as masculine (remember Kermit?), this small cru is set in deeper, iron infused soil, touching upon the lower part of Mazis-Chambertin and lies east of Champonnets. Whilst, there are no large owners we have some very good bottles to chase; Bachelet, Jadot, Serafin spring quickly to mind. Put Bachelet’s Corbeaux next to a Clos St.Jacques and you will see less focus and perhaps less well defined structure but no less intensity – and the price is about half!

Craipillot
2 hectares and 76 ares. Here, just below the Clos du Chapitre, the vineyard is relatively flat, though apparently well-drained. I’ve only ever seen a Confuron-Coteditot bottling – and it was rather ungainly – most of this juice ends up in anonymous Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru blends.

En Ergot
1 hectare and 17 ares. Owners include Trapet and Tortochot, but I’ve never found a bottle. Like most of the Craipillot above, I assume it ends up in the Gevrey 1er cru ‘mix’.

Estournelles (or Etournelle) Saint-Jacques
2 hectares and 03 ares. A well positioned, if small cru right at the top of the slope. Below is Lavaux and it’s north-east border is that of the Clos St.Jacques – the soil is pretty much the same too – at least at that high level in the Clos. The name supposedly derives from walls with towers. Frédéric Esmonin owns the largest single portion, 0.75 hectares, I haven’t tasted it, but it comes well recommended by Allen Meadows!

Fonteny and Clos du Fonteny – or Fontenys
3 hectares and 73 ares. Lots of potential names – that indicate the presence of a spring – but a relatively small cru, sited just below the grand cru Ruchottes on the flat land adjioning the village. That part that borders Ruchottes, has a wall with the name Clos du Fonteny, this is a 0.68 hectare monopole of domain Bruno Clair – the vines are currently very young. It’s a rocky cru with a paucity of soil. Rebourseau with 1 hectare is the biggest owner though the 0.45 hectares of Roty are the best known.

Les Goulots
1 hectare and 81 ares. Sitting above Champeaux in a cleft between it and the Combe aux Moine, it’s a steep plot with terraces, it’s also much cooler than the lower land so needs extra ripening time. From here I would choose the examples of Fourrier and Vougeraie.

Lavaut-Saint-Jacques
9 hectares and 53 ares. Adjoining the Clos St.Jacques, Lavaut (or Lavaux) is the largest of the Gevrey 1ers. Mainly covering the lower part of the slope where the soil is deeper – so needs care to keep yields in-line – it still gets hit by a cool breeze that misses the Clos due to its high walls. Like Corbeaux the Lavaux never equals the ‘focus’ of the St.Jacques but betters the Corbeaux for elegance. It also benefits from a retinue of well-regarded producers including Domaines Denis Mortet, Armand Rousseau and both Dugats.

Perrières
2 hectares and 47 ares. On the flat plain above the village, sandwiched between the grand cru of Mazis (bas) and a section of villages that reaches to the RN74. The name reflects the stones that were probably extracted from the site. The holdings are all quite small, that must be why I’ve hardly seen a bottle, but a recent 2005 from Marchand-Grillot was excellent and keenly priced at abou 28 Euros.

Petits Cazetiers
0.99 hectares. Almost never seen – apart from an occasional bottle by Dominique Gallois – as producers blend it into their Cazetiers and keep the Cazetiers label.

Petite-Chapelle (or Champitenois)
4 hectares. Not surprisingly, the vines are situated directly below that of Chapelle-Chambertin. The make-up of the soil is similar except that drainage can be problematic in wet years. Though it’s hardly a common sight, there is quite a collection of owners – it is said, producing a lighter version of the Chapelle grand cru. Dugat-Py’s version has the highest renown, but is hard to come by and expensive, so to get an inexpensive taste, try the version of Marchand-Grillot.

Plantigone or Issart
0.62 hectares. This small site sits opposite (south of) the high part of Ruchottes, sharing walls with the Rousseau Clos des Ruchottes. Faiveley have taken on the vines who were owned by Bernard Dufour – one to look for apparently, but not yet found by me.

Poissenot
2 hectares and 20 ares. Le Poissenots lies next to Estournelles St.Jacques, high on the hillside it recieves a cool breeze from Veroilles. Is it the shape of a fish or did the monks have a fishpond here? Anyway it’s an unusual name. It is Geantet-Pansiot who waves the flag for this cru – he’s also the biggest owner with 0.62 hectares.

Clos Prieur (Haut)
2 hectares. Only the ‘Haut’ is premier cru, the lower part has the village appellation. Dovetailed between Cherbaudes, La Perrière and the bottom section of Mazis. The vineyard was owned at one time by the Abbey of Cluny and was one of the earliest vineyards planted, probably because the soil was easier to work than that of its neighbours. I’ve seen examples from Gelin, Trapet.

La Romanée
1 hectare and 6 ares. The name Romanée is usually reserved for the best vineyards. This a monopole of Domaine de la Varoilles and commands the high spot on the side of the Combe. The ground is rocky and there is an underground stream running below the vineyard. Like several other 1er crus La Romanée includes a part that is classed as a village appellation. The character of La Romanée is a little redder with raspberry fruit if compared to its cherry fruited stablemate Clos des Varoilles. It’s a consistently good wine.

Clos Saint Jacques
6 hectares 70 ares. This is the cru which all other premiers aspire to be. Together with Meursault Perrières and Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses they have a classification of their own in the minds of Burgundy afficionados – historically it was also one of the vineyards of renown. The large walled vineyard is perfectly exposed on the ‘corner’ of the combe. While there is a significant height difference from bottom to top but the five current producers all have vines that run from top to bottom, thus masking any potential for difference. It is a most harmonious wine and much easier to appreciate in it’s youth than a Chambertin or a Bèze, partly this is why it is so often cited as a potential grand cru – but with time those wines will almost always better it. That of-course doen’t mean it cannot exceed the quality of a ‘xxxx-Chambertin’. Until 1954 it was a monopole of the Comte de Moucheron when it was sold to a consortium of four buyers: the domaines of Clair-Daü (now Bruno Clair), Esmonin, Fourrier and Rousseau. Today we can add the name of Louis Jadot to that list, who aquired vines during the break-up of the Clair-Daü estate. The extra oak lavished on the Rousseau seems to position it higher than the others, but all are worthy purchases. I would put the Fourrier and the Esmonin bottles as the closest things to a ‘bargain’. Very occasionally you might come across a négoce bottle too from Pierre Bourée or Dominique Laurent – probably sourced from Esmonin.

Clos des Varoilles
6 hectares and 3 ares. The Domaine des Varoilles has this, not surprisingly from the name, as a monopole. The domaine seems blessed to have this and La Romanée as monopoles; the Clos des Varoilles particularly for its historical renown on a par with Clos St.Jacques, Bèze and Romanée-Conti. Sited early in the mouth of the combe, south from Lavaut it is easily spotted for the small ‘house’, with its pale blue shutters, in the upper centre of of the vineyard. The land is not so steep as some crus but there is still quite a drop from top to bottom. I’ve visited the domaine and bought a number of vintages as this is a wine of value and interest but not quite what renown would suggest – does that reflect the winemaking? Still a recommended source.

Pages: 1 2 3