Tasted in Gevrey-Chambertin with Bernard Bouvier, 05 December 2019.

Domaine René Bouvier
Chemin de Saule Brochon
21220 Gevrey-Chambertin
Tel: +33 3 80 52 21 37
www.renebouvier.com (new)

More reports for Domaine René Bouvier

Since I last visited the winery has been updated. There’s so much climate-controlled working space now, despite the rows of stainless-steel tanks. This is helpful as Bernard has also taken on the domaine of his brother. So here, since 2019, Bernard is now working 30 hectares of vines.

Bernard on 2018:
“We started harvesting the 3^rd September. 15 years ago I was one of the later harvesters but with organics I’m ripe 5 days earlier than before. In 2019, even with the additional vines from my brother, I didn’t harvest longer – of course, I needed more pickers though! I think it’s a good vintage and it was important not to harvest too late. Here I think there’s good freshness and balance. Mildew was a worry at one stage – we lost a little.”

The wines…

A good result for Bernard – there are many excellent 2018s in his cuverie!

2018 Bourgogne Aligoté Vieilles-Vignes
Bottled. From the commune of Morey, about 60-year-old vines.
Ooh, now that’s a big and fresh whiff of inviting aroma. Open, mineral, nicely complex and focused in the finish too. Thats very pretty.

2018 Bourgogne Chardonnay
Bottled. Vines in the commune of Marsannay
A quite structural nose. Full, nicely fresh energy, a touch of the saline too. A wine that finishes really well – delicious.

2018 Marsannay Blanc Le Clos
On white marl – ‘a proper white terroir.’ Fermentation in barrels of 600l, just before the 2019 harvest added to tank with its first dose of sulfur. Bottling planned for Feb-March.
Forward, deep and weighty. In the mouth round but with good dimension and energy – an intense line of direct flavour with a little richness. Big but very drinkable…

Les Rouges:
The next is bottled, like first two. The reds had a minimum of 60% wc and just a little sulfur early on:

2018 Bourgogne Pinot Noir Chapitre Suivant
Bottled last week. Vines spread across the communes of Marsannay, Fixin, Brochon and Gevrey
Thats a forward and intense nose – fresh too. Super texture with lots of width and layers of vibrant flavour. A touch of tannin towards the finish. This looks very good.

2018 Marsannay ‘Le Finage‘
From tank, a mix of multiple (7) parcels
A deep and concentrated nose. Full, but with drive and direction. A little oak, long finishing.

2018 Marsannay Ouzelois
“In the cone of dejection which brings more finesse and minerality rather than concentration.”
Ooh, now thats a classier nose, with lovely fruit. Fresh again, a wine with drive and energy, the flavour more classy, wide and tasty too – thats super!

2018 Marsannay Champs Salomon
From the mid-slope near the Chateau de Marsannay.
Vibrant and wide – a fine nose. Finer texture, wider on the palate and again a classy fruit. The finish is super and nicely mouth-watering.

2018 Marsannay Longeroies
About 70-year-old vines in the bottom of Longeroies with deeper soil and some clay.
Here I see the whole-clusters, there are florals too – it’s a good perfume. Fresh, driving wine, full of wc-inflected flavour. Excellent!

2018 Marsannay Clos du Roi
Here’s a nice width of aroma, wide and hyper-attractive. More mouth-filling, no less fresh. More minerality in the finishing complexity. Lovely.

2018 Fixin Crais de Chaine
“Harvest ripe and don’t try to extract and you will be fine here – extract and it’s too much!”
Deep, red-fruited. Again fine freshness, open red fruit over the palate, complex, wide and mouth-watering. Good stuff!

2018 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice
A much deeper nose but perfumed too. More depth to this very fine texture, a lovely wc-inflected fruit. This is a wine of class – excellent!

2018 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Jeunes Rois
Mid-slope with only 20cm of soil before the mother rock – the last vines of Gevrey to the north of the appellation near Brochon.
More wc aroma here. This is full, energetic, saline – really the most complex so far. Excellent again!

2018 Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles-Vignes
A darker nose but with more wc spice rather than heavy. Open wc flavours too, airy, hmm, thats nice and long.

2018 Vosne-Romanée
One part of this is purchased, but all the work is done by the domaine. From Champs Perdrix and Croix Blanche.
Hmm, the wc and spice together bring the best blend of aroma so far. Wide, vibrantly complex, proper Vosne personality. That’s a very fine villages, of freshness and complexity. Excellent!

2018 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Fuées
Hmm – open, some rare delicacy of aroma in this vintage. Whole-cluster perfume, high-toned, mineral, really complex. The finish is great. Simply excellent wine!

2018 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Sentiers
A more concentrated aroma, slowly accented with wc. Mouth-filling, more innate density, wider on the palate. Long. Bigger – a super wine – but I prefer the Fuées

2018 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Champaux
A deep nose, lots of wc, slowly there’s a floral accompaniment too. Lots of perfume from the wc in the mouth, driving a nice intensity and a little more tannin in the middle and finish.

2018 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Combe aux Moines
The aroma is fresh and gorgeously perfumed – this is a fine invitation to drink! The impression in the mouth is full of freshness, melting great flavour, a little herb in the finishing complexity too – this is an excellent wine again!

2018 Echézeaux
Combe d’Orveaux, from ‘quite old’ vines.
Quite a modest volume of aroma, modestly spiced, some width. This is lovely in the mouth, though, a super structural wine, open, great shape, a wine apart – fine finishing, long and elegnt rather than a powerful Echézeaux.

2018 Charmes-Chambertin
From above Mazoyères, over 60-year-old vines, organic for over 25 years.
Ooh, much more volume of aroma, here a fainter wc component – this is a very inviting nose. Big in the mouth, more power and energy than the Echézeaux. Big finishing too. Another Charmes with character in 2018.