Tasted in Gevrey-Chambertin with (new) Benoit Pagot and the rest of the Jérôme Galeyrand team, 27 November 2020.
Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand
2 Route Nationale 74
Brochon
Tel: +33 3 80 34 39 69
www.jerome-galeyrand.fr
On 2019:
“Probably about 30% less was produced than in 2018, though the volume was a good one in 2018! Even a little less in 2020.”
The wines:
A very strong selection chez Galeyrand in 2019 – no surprise – a number of great or potentially great wines to search out!
For the whites a vertical press and vinifications without sulfur. They were racked in August and bottled last week – like the reds too. The grapes are either organic or in their 2nd or 3rd vintage of conversion. All apart from one part of one of the Fixin, are organic. All the whites sealed with a technical ‘cork’ – amalgmum in the middle and a layer of cork top and bottom – ‘We needed a better solution due to the low sulfur we use.‘
2019 Bourgogne Aligoté Alligotay
The old spelling of the variety.
That’s a modest volume of aroma, but still a fine nose, there’s great detail and it’s inviting. Supple, rounded edges but still with good cut. A broad finishing width of very fine aligoté flavour. Excellent wine with clarity of flavour…
2019 Bourgogne Aligoté Les Poirossots
The climat. From the middle of the village of Rully, but not AOC Rully vines
A more evident floral and fruit style of aroma. More intense, more impression of minerality too but that’s probably the mouth-watering acidity here. More depth to this finish – there’s some density of flavour here. This for keeping longer.
2019 Bourgogne Aligoté Le Cran
This on granite a rosé and a black grain from hillside vines in Bissey.
Here the nose is more saline and spiced, almost a reductive/petrol accent. Supple, mineral, wide. Fine intensity – very different in style again. The finish with an endearing softness after the modest rigour of the rest of the wine. Nice.
2019 Bourgogne Chardonnay Orane
Named for the daughter of Jerome. Vines opposite the cuverie of Philippe Charlopin
A direct nose, not much width but offering a mineral style of intensity. Fuller, supple, well-hidden barrels in here too. A super line of finishing flavour. Well structured and delicious.
2019 Marsannay Champs Perdrix Blanc
Highest altitude vines here. Marne blanche soil. Some chardonnay rose and pinot blanc in this mix – the vine selections coming from Roulot and Pataille
More width and more complexity – good freshness. This has a nice – I would say attack – but the flavour and the fresh acidity more creeps up on you. Very tasty wine.
2019 Bouzeron
From Les Corcelles this year.
A narrower nose but of fine interest. Drive and energy here – a little more direction to this intensity. A burst of finishing flavour – that’s well placed in this tasting. The finish is really top! Excellent wine.
Les Reds:
Grapes from Gevrey, Brochon, the bottom of Chambolle and Vosne – close to Retraits too. Sulfur only later in elevage.
Ooh – that’s forward – there are no whole clusters in here, but it smells like there are – very perfumed. Sits very well on the palate, very perfumed, like the nose. Fresh, wide and beautifully textured. That’s simply great Bourgogne.
Very sandy towards the top of this parcel – this time with a little more than 10% wc.
A fine red berry fruit to this nose, a base of slightly graphite minerality. Hmm, a little more relaxed over the palate but wide and fresh too – cool fruited. Faintly saline, darker fruit in the finish. Great Marsannay wine
2019 Côte de Nuits Villages Vieilles Vignes
From Brochon
Here the nose seems to show a wine with more structure. Supple, deeper, apparently more concentrated, but carried with a very fine balancing acidity. Wait a little time for this wine – it’s not too structured – but still a little more than the last ones – if wish to compare. Great finish – floral with rose perfume…
2019 Fixin Champs de Vosger
The wine with some non-bio grapes included.
Deeply perfumed – finely high-toned too. That’s a super texture to the tannin and the shape of the wine too. I’m almost chewing in the finish, always beautifully perfumed.
Old 1960s vines.
Medium, medium-plus colour. A beautiful nose; a width of aroma but still not a large nose. Fuller in the mouth – again very silky in style until the more velvet tannin rises to the surface. Wide with fine clarity of finishing fruit and perfume. Super, super… Just so engrossing…
2019 Gevrey-Chambertin Billard
Similar soil but in Justice the ground is just a little higher than that of the neighbours and the soil is very draining due to lots of gravel…
A slightly higher intensity of the perfume of wc – a little more vibrant. The flavour, however, seems to relax over the palate, coating the structure, delivering a little extra length. Long and tasty.
Some outcrops of rock here. There’s some chardonnay and even some alogoté planted in this area. Half the clusters retained to ferment.
Higher toned, a touch of herb too in this – more to find but a little less elegant today. Full of energy, great shape, dynamic – really a depth to this complex and energetic flavour profile – more structured and more power – but there’s no fat here. A finish that has just a little lingering tannin. Simply excellent and the potential to be great.
2019 Côte de Nuits Villages Les Retraits
Name of climat in Comblanchien. 2014 was the first vintage for this wine – with an individual label. ‘Pinot from another time, the owner is in his 80s but it was his father that planted these vines, the first planting here post phylloxera.’ South of the Clos de Marechale.
That’s a fuller nose, lots of perfumed width. Like the last it gives a slightly structured impression to start but becomes finer and finer with air. Deeply flavoured – more width of flavour at the base – darker fruit, a touch of extra sweetness. Layered and deep. Such an excellent wine, as ever, to have more patience with – so take the Croisette today!
2019 Fixin Champs des Charmes
Actually right next to the CDNV.
Another full nose, a little more spiced in this case, extra depth too – not as overtly, or as outrageously, perfumed as many previous wines though. Supple, well-named wine, extra sweetness here – well-placed in the tasting but probably not my favourite wine because of that sweetness. But open, beautifully constructed wine. Modest finishing weight of flavour, but the length is in place. Still excellent wine.