Tasted in Gevrey-Chambertin with Philippe Charlopin, 21 October 2022.
Domaine Philippe Charlopin
18 Rte de Dijon
21220 Gevrey-Chambertin
Tel: +33 3 80 58 50 46
www.domaine-charlopin-parizot.com
A family domaine that began life in 1977 with only 1.5 hectares – it now covers 25 hectares! Philippe Charlopin is one of the most recognisable of Gevrey’s vignerons – it was high time that I took the time to visit!
Philippe on 2022:
“I’m very happy with this most recent harvest – and for both red and white. We had a little hail in some places but the rest was a very good season – also for the volume in Gevrey, Morey and Chambolle.”
Philippe on 2021:
“I have 36 appellations but in the end, I made only 2 wines.
“After the 2018s, 2019s and 2020s, I didn’t find an extraordinary level of quality and let’s not forget that prices are very high now, so I made just two cuvées. From 25 hectares of vines, including 8 grand crus, I have kept just 70 barrels of wine, compared to the 500 barrels I will have from 2022. It wasn’t a vintage that inspired me so I sold quite a lot in bulk. These are still tasty wines but they are more wines to drink with friends than to keep a long time. So, much declassification has been done here – all to two regional cuvées of Bourgogne Côte d’Or. In the style of Dr. Lavalle, I have made a Premère Cuvée and a Tête de Cuvée. The first contains my best villages and 1er cru plots and the latter with all my grand cru grapes.”
The wines…
All the wines at this domaine have deep colours – particularly the 2020s. I found some of the 2020s with a bit of extra (sur) maturity in the aromatics but not the 2021s. And the oak was well-balanced in all the wines. A good range!
“I normally have 18 months of elevage but will bottle my 2021s by Christmas:”
2021 Bourgogne Côte d’Or – Première Cuvée
Plenty of colour. Tight higher tones but this nose is broad and interesting below. Round, supple, with good fruit sweetness. I like the texture and it’s nicely floral finishing – this seems very good.
2021 Bourgogne Côte d’Or – Tête de Cuvée
This contains ‘only’ the 8 grand crus of the domaine.
Hmm, I have to say that this has a very inviting nose; of width, complexity and inviting depth – it’s lovely. More muscular and structured, again with good sweetness of fruit, the tannin is present but showing hardly any grain. Broad, with a properly impressive length. That’s a very good wine.
As that tasting was so quick, we also tasted some 2020s. Bottling of these was done in February for the whites, the regionals in March and the rest from April to June:
2020 Marsannay
Broad aromatics that are quite ripe and mineral. Mouth-filling with good energy. Long and tasty finishing – the best part.
2020 Bourgogne Côte d’Or
A blend of parcels in Gevrey, Brochon and Marsannay.
Lots of colour. That’s got a concentrated, ripe, dark-fruit nose of good focus. A wine that’s full of freshness and energy.
2021 Marsannay Mont Chenevoy
From the north of the appellation near Clos du Roy
Here’s more intensity of higher-toned fruit. Supple, with a slightly more cushioned texture. Long finishing – a broad wave of fine flavour – it’s delicious here.
Philippe has 4 cuvées of Gevrey villages as he has 6 ha of vines, 3ha of which he classes as Vieilles-Vignes:
2020 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice
Much higher toned aromatics versus the Marsannay – perfumed dark red fruit with some rose petal aromas from the 30% wc. Silky, cushioned, then the wc-infused flavour comes through – and here is width.
2020 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles-Vignes
An inky-dark width of aroma. Much more direct, wiry, sinuous muscle and depth of mouth-watering flavour – that’s a delicious, potentially really excellent wine. Currently quite approachable despite plenty of structure.
2021 Clos de Vougeot
South of the Clos, 0.41 ha from road to about 300m higher – long rows to Grand Maupertuis.
A much more vertical nose but with fine depth and with plenty of top notes. Slowly adding more floral components. Supple, again, there’s a bit of depth to this flavour. Intense and very long finishing.
2020 Charmes-Chambertin
2 parcels blended; Mazoyeres and Charmes, each of similar surface and vine age.
Such deep colour again. A little cooked dark fruit here but still showing some floral character. Broad, good intensity, and certainly very long.