Tasted with Pierre Naigeon in St.Philibert, 14 November 2016.
Domaine Pierre Naigeon
1, route de Saint Philibert
21220 Gevrey Chambertin
Tel: +33 3 80 33 46 03
www.pierrenaigeon.com
When I visited, Pierre was just racking many of his 2015s into tank – to free up barrels for his 2016s.
Pierre on 2016:
2016 – there’s not much volume so there’s not much to say. I lost 60%, and not just to frost; I started bio, so I also so lost 25% from that – but once I’d decided, there was no going back. I finished harvesting in the Hautes Côtes 12 October. What was left and harvested was magnificent 13-13.8° and concentrated, with no mildew.
“Actually, it could have been worse as we were already part through ploughing when the frost came, and those vineyards were less affected – those not yet done, with their grass in-tact held onto the frost easier.
Prices remain level here since 2012 – in euros…
The wines…
This was a modest tasting of only 36 cuvées – Pierre has 60 in 2015! Though if you followed my original profile of this producer, you will note that many of his parcels are only 1-3 barrels – but he doesn’t like blending them!
These first three wines perfectly reflect the village communes they come from – that’s always a great achievement for a Bourgogne!
45-60-year-old vines from the bottom of the commune of Chambolle, 7 barrels this year, none in 2016. No filtration or fining before bottling.
Fresh, faint sulfur on the nose (or in the cuverie!) Supple, concentrated. Simply delicious, juicy-flavoured wine.
2015 Bourgogne Grand Champs
From the bottom of Gevrey across the road from Crais
A little less weight, still a hint sulfur. Fresh, juicy again with redder fruit and melting flavour in the finish. Yum! A hint more tannin and cherry.
Bottom of Vosne Maizières, also old vines.
Deeper colour. A hint of reduction but also weight dark and attractive fruit. Lithe, dense, spicy, rounder, this is really excellent stuff.
2015 Marsannay
A big cuvee this year – 20 barrels. None in 2016…
Dark fruit and florality – super. Supple, a finer texture and more depth. Perhaps less complex, than the last but with deeper flavour. Very good Marsannay. And long finishing too!
2015 Marsannay Vieilles-Vignes
Good colour. Quite a high-toned nose with some pyrazine, then converts to flowers. Bright fresh and floral – a relative bouquet in the mouth. And a great finish too. Yum!
2015 Fixin les Herbues
Near the church of Fissey
A silky if tighter nose. More gas, freshness and a good intensity of wide fruit. Lots of very pretty flavour and pure complexity as you head out into the finish. Excellent!
2015 Fixin Olivier
Vines in the direction of Hervelets – 50% new wood.
Fresh and deep, really an inviting nose here, very pretty fruit. Fresh, wide, a hint of tannin and a growing intensity of mid-palate flavour. Wider and fuller finishing flavour, though I prefer the last finish. Fixin de garde!
Chablis stone here – Kimmerigian.
A more delicate nose and floral, beautiful fruit too – this is really super. In the mouth it’s silky and wide, a hint of oak but also a growing intensity and salinity – beautiful high quality and elegant wine – the Chambolle of fixin?…
2015 Morey St.Denis Les Herbuottes
This has lost some colour from the recent sulfur addition, but the nose is sweet and inviting. A fine macerating red fruit depth too. Another elegant wine, of fine width and texture – faintly more tannin, sweet cooking red fruit a little oak in the finish.
2015 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Feuselottes
High toned, pretty top notes, tighter below. Transparent but with a growing round depth of attractive fruit. Faint gas but still super .
2015 Vosne-Romanée Bas de Maizières
Deep, vibrant (some redn ) darker, spicy fruit. Less directly sweet, but more directly flavoured and slowly mouth-watering. Super tasty finishing flavour. Yum!
Highly attractive deep and dark fruit, flowers and rocks. Silky, gorgeous flavour, mouth-wateringly complex. A faint tannin in the finish but also lovely flavour. Bravo!
2015 Morey St.Denis 1er Les Chaffots
A little reduction but pretty red fruit on the palate. Ripe fruit but fine acidity – tasty stuff.
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin Creux Brouillard
The ‘foggy hole!’ An assembly of 5 different small parcels.
Fresh and attractive dark fruit and of depth too. Round and supple wine, some growing intensity – nice layers. Nice weight and really offering a great finish!
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Crais
Harvested 1 week later than the last.
Pretty and floral – quite a different nose. Nice weight, lots of complexity here. A lovely floral mid-palate with whole-cluster aromatics. Very tasty indeed.
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Corvées
Opposite the Creux
A deep and involving nose – yes! More gas. Wait, let the wine open in the mouth, and open it does – wide intense and with plenty of complexity, even chocolate in the finishing flavours. More generous an opulent.
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin en Pallud
Near Mazis and Perrières
Higher toned, points of focused and finely fresh fruits. Wide, generous modestly weighted and textured, less modestly changing and complex. Really holds its length… Super!
Plenty of oak showing but freshness and highly attractive darker fruit too! Mineral, fresh, gorgeous – I want the oak to fade a bit more but this could be super-gorgeous – I hope so!
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin Marchais
Opposite Clos St.Jacques – one of the last parcels to be harvested.
Now that’s a pretty nose – very different too. Faint whole-cluster but herb-crusted fruit too. Nice shape in the mouth, wc, a little more richness. Fine and nicely fresh. The finish is easily the best part today – it’s super.
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin En Sylive
Next to Arnaud Mortet
A deep nose, with some reduction, but super. Fresh, bright, transparent – a cousin to the Echezeaux in terms of freshness and delivery, but redder fruit. Last drops smell gorgeous!
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin En Vosne
Next to the cemetery.
Some reduction fades quite quickly – quickly becoming pure and floral. Some muscle here, layers of mouth-watering flavour too. This is richer, more fruit for sure, and more mineral finishing too.
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Meix Bas
On the Evocelles hillside near Brochon.
Some oak touches, but it’s bright and floral still. Fresh, actually super in the mouth, not too rich. Fresh attack, though the oak is a little high today. But wait and it’s a really a great finish.
Oldest vines of the domaine, some ‘pieds’ are over 100.
Ooh, there is less to say, but the emotional reaction is higher – a silky freshness to this nose. Layered, but with decent structure, tons of mid-palate complexity – Really super. An aching length…
More aromatic depth, more higher toned – ooh… Super fresh in the mouth, with complex red fruit, soft fruit, and a gorgeous wave of fresh fruit. Love…!
Hmm. Complex aroma, even a vibration, maybe less depth. Big, round, hmm, this is really a grand cru level with a big mass of mid-palate flavour that persists and persists. Great wine! Just class on the finish…
2015 Mazy-Chambertin
From Mazis-Hauts above Bèze, one barrel.
High toned and pretty nose, slowly adding depth. Layered, rich flavour but also mineral and some oak. Almost opulent but with more than enough freshness. A big kick of finishing flavour top. Long. Long, long…
2015 Charmes-Chambertin
‘From the north they always have power.’
A little reduction, some coffee and a deeply attractive fruit to this nose. Hmm, lovely, lots of power here, really not your average ‘easy’ Charmes – this has muscle as well as engaging flavour. Yum!
2015 Bonnes-Mares
All from the Chambolle side, not so badly touched by the frost, young vines planted by Pierre’s father – now 27-years-old – the vines, not Pierre’s father!
A deep, dark nose, mainly due to some reduction. Lots of gas, plenty of reduction on the palate too so difficult today, but the finish is a pretty one.. lots more elevage needed…
Les blancs
2015 Bourgogne Aligoté
From the Hautes Côtes de Nuits – ‘one year from 3 it’s actually ripe – 2015 was such a year.’
Big fresh, golden fruit. Wide and fresh in the mouth too, this is quite mineral and after all these reds, it tastes great!
2015 Bourgogne Blanc
1 parcel of bought grapes.
Lovely core of freshness – drink me! Some richness of flavour, a little oak too. Full-flavoured and slowly lingering. Tasty wine, I’d guess from a decent Mâconnais village… but with nice tasty balance…
2015 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Blanc
A deeper, tighter yet more impressive nose. Some gas. More refreshing, a little pear fruit but fresh, wide and with a good finishing intensity too. Tasty stuff.
2015 Côtes de Nuits Villages Blanc
A richer, yellower citrus nose. More mineral, lithe, with good flavour complexity. The Finish is a strong one, maybe my least favourite flavour of these – quite floral finishing, but a very good wine.
2015 Saint Romain La Combe Bazins
Hmm – now this is fine. A little reduction but with fine reductive elements and plenty of citrus. Fresh, growing in volume, the palate is ‘oh so tasty’ if still behind the gorgeousness of the nose. Great finishing too. Excellent!
To finish, 3 purchases ‘Because I like to make some great whites…‘
2015 Puligny-Montrachet
Almost a hint of green to the colour. A deep and textured nose but with freshness above. Nice volume, some salinity, some oak.
2015 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Folatières
A wider freshness of aroma. Super silky, again some oak, long and tasty though.
A deeper more obviously fruit-inflected nose – a beautiful mandarin note. Lithe, complex, savoury, saline. Sublime!