Tasted in Cheilly with Pablo Chevrot – pictured together with brother, Vincent, 24 November, 2021.
Domaine Chevrot et Fils
19 Route de Couches
71150 Cheilly-lès-Maranges
Tel: +33 3 85 91 10 55
www.chevrot.fr
More reports with Domaine Chevrot.
Pablo on 2021:
“It’s about half a harvest in volume but less than that in terms of money because it was the best stuff that was frosted the most!”
Pablo on 2020:
“The paradox was that this was a vintage that was very early but not due to heat, rather the ‘softness’ of the winter so everything started very early. It remained quite cool in the nights so the growth cycle until the end of June was relatively long. The winter was very wet – fortunately – but April onwards it was really very, very dry. There was a little rain in June and the flowering was okay – though better for the reds. July-August was dry again, warmer too. 40-50 mm in August which was very helpful – further north they didn’t get that, so we could harvest a decent volume. We were quite happy; the degrees are high but the acidity is also good. the volumes are very good for the whites, but the reds are not enormous – better in regional and villages but the average was only about 30 hl/ha. But we have more than in 2019, so that’s a good thing. ”
The wines…
Always a joyous visit – and like most years, there are great wines at all levels and colours!
Nothing sulfured at this stage – ‘We have a lot of structure and a lot of natural stability:’
2020 Coteaux Bourguignon Pivoine – Fernand Chevrot
Grapes from Regnié, not destemmed but some pigeage – not organic. Elevage in old barrels.
An easy, perfumed invitation. Supple, lovely texture – perfumed through the core. Finishing a bit more mineral. Tasty wine.
2020 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Bottom of the hill in Maranges plus a parcel that would normally be used for cremant – but it was clear in 2020 that crémant wasn’t going to work.
Plenty of colour. More depth of aroma here – there’s concentration. In the mouth it’s also showing a lot of material – the texture is excellent, though a little tannin starts to show in the middle. Finishes well. That’s very good and very tasty.
Gravel soils all around the domaine. ‘Racked 3 weeks ago – now it’s starting to open again.’
A little higher-toned and direct – the impression of silk. More vibrant, wider – classier, darker fruit a bit more structure. Just a bit more finesse than the last wine – Great Bourgogne.
Like the last, a lot of colour. A rounder more textured depth, almost cushioned, of dark fruit. Supple again – more open and airy in style – this is quite delicious. Give it at least another 12 months – you may have to it wont be bottled until July! Bravo Maranges Villages…
2020 Santenay
2 parcels, Charmes and Poirons blended, one Chassagne-side of old degenerated vines, the other nearer Maranges, roughly equal sizes. They have similar geology despite being on different sides of the village.
A fresher and concentrated nose – without the freshness you might find it a bit dense but it’s great as it is. Also wide, also supple but here there’s more of the mouth-watering intensity. Dark fruit of fine clarity. Simply excellent Santenay in what is already a great vintage there. The last lick of tannin has practically no grain though a suggestion of dryness today – this will be gone in 12 months…
2020 Santenay 1er Clos Rousseau
Rocky not much clay. Grand and Petit Clos Rousseau, ‘we’re replanting some of the petit clos to white and it’s good, the red was always behind that of the grand clos… This a blend of the two. There are many geological faults in this vineyard and it’s a big vineyard – you can find everything.’
That’s a nice nose – pepper accented florals over dark fruit. Mouth-filling, a grain of ripe tannin underpins lots of mouth-filling flavour – fine finishing clarity too. That’s a very lovely wine…
All the previous racked and returned to barrel about 2 weeks ago – ‘they lack a bit of finesse and are bit jumbled right now’ says Pablo.
2020 Maranges 1er Le Fussière
Plenty of colour here! Not quite 100% destemmed – ‘but it’s a naturally powerful area so less wc used here’ – about 20%. This has been racked, but back into barrel.
Here’s a more compact nose – a little airy and clean but holding its cards close to its chest. Mouth-filling, the tannin of the domaine this year – perhaps a little more – but here is a super width of flavour. Finishing very well with a little mix of wc perfume and minerality.
2020 Maranges 1er Clos Roussots
Pablo notes “It’s a hard vineyard to cultivate as the top and bottom parts have permeable soil, but the middle is all clay. ‘I think it will take a little time to bring equilibrium to the vines which we’ve had since 2013. ‘This the only parcel where the dryness looked to be having an effect on the vines and the grapes – normally plenty of water here – but when it goes, it really goes!’
Also starting quite compact, this nose generates some pretty flashes of darker berries with swirling. Hmm, different but also I like – the fruit is more direct and still clean – there’s plenty of salinity too. That’s lovely.
A wider, finely textured width of aroma – that’s a lovely invitation. Higher toned fruit on the palate, modestly framed with a faint tannin – lovely energy and many dimensions of delicious flavour. A step up today – the most complete and delicious of these – bravo!
Les whites:
2020 Bourgogne Aligoté Cuvée des Quatre Terroirs
This was bottled at the start of September.
Here’s a clarity of aroma, with some airy higher tones too. Super texture, starting direct then widening over the palate and then bursting with freshness in the finish. Lovely!
This is usually a barrel selection as there are about 6 barrels which are slowly whittled down to 2 or 3. The rest for the standard cuvée of aligoté. “Ploughed by horse, long elevage and (there will be) no fining or filtration.” Now with a foudre from 2016.
Hmm – now that’s going to be super – a small ripple of agrume, texture too. In the mouth, lots of energy and super clarity of flavour. A beauty and bravo – I see much less oak impact now the foudre is in use too. Love the finish too.
2020 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc
The Hautes Côtes here are not really so ‘Haut’ as they are the same altitude as many villages appellations. Always with elevage in barrel – usually! – but now about 1/3rd foudre elevage.
A lovely nose again – this one with some high-toned agrume action. Wide, melting with flavour over the palate, mineral and citrus then more saline at the end – that’s a simply excellent Hautes Côtes…
1.6 ha but a blend of parcels ranging in vine age from 2017 to 1950 in this vintage ‘but 20 was hard for the old vines and they didn’t really recover from the frost so are being replaced.’
A little more aromatic impact. Width of aroma here too. Hmm, a touch of oak is visible here but it melts beautifully into the complexity of the wine – that’s really a great middle flavour. Long and very delicious – bravo!
2020 Santenay Comme Dessous Blanc
Here with high limestone content. Under the Windmill direction Chassagne.
A more compact nose – here’s a core of concentrated fruit but little else to start. Full, energetic, lots of energy – though augmented by a little gas. There is much here but today the impression is a little diffuse – I’m confident that it will come together – possibly excellent but not yet today…
2020 Santenay 1er Clos Rousseau Blanc
Third vintage since planting in 2013 – early vintages sold to négoce. ‘It’s principally a terroir for reds here but we had a parcel that never made decent red wine so we eventually replanted with white – and we’re happy that we did!’
Less compact, indeed a fine width – a touch diffuse still, though it remains a fine invitation. More direct, more together, lots of energy again but this time without gas. An explosion of finishing flavour – I think that this will be great!
2020 Maranges 1er Le Fussière Blanc
This part of the vineyard is ploughed using a cable-pulley as it’s so steep. “Very young vines here, just 11 years old. Planted at the top of the slope where there’s lots of limestone.
Not quite together at this stage but the core is of vibrant and ripe citrus – quite Impressive. Mouth-filling, reasonably together today though not fully – a fine and wide intensity of flavour that holds into the finish. This is already very good and it should turn out even better than that – it won’t be bottled until July!