Tasted in Gevrey-Chambertin with Philippe Chéron, pictured with son Paul (right), 08 December 2023.
Domaine du Couvent
11 rue de l’ancien Hôpital
21220 Gevrey-Chambertin
Tel: +33 3 80 34 30 30
www.domaineducouvent.com
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More reports with Domaine du Couvent / Varoilles
Philippe on 2023:
“Well, if you can’t be happy with that! I was lucky to have picked up 3 more tanks in the early summer before they were all sold – we had no place, or hardly, for the stems!! We had a bit of rot that we didn’t see in 2022 – so there was work controlling the yield and also in triage – we had a good volume and we triaged a lot too.”
Philippe on 2022:
“We didn’t have the rain of Gevrey and we lost 20-30% in some areas – so we have more than 2021 but not as much as 2017, 2018 or 2023 – but we can be happy as we still had 40 hl/ha for the domaine. That was despite some hail in Gevrey when there was the big storm in June – the rain saved the vintage to an extent but we lost some yield to the hail – it was more like 35 hl/ha in Gevrey – we also had some dried grapes to triage – grilled by the sun.”
The wines…
A largely unknown domain whose wine impress me year-in, year-out – there’s nothing here that I wouldn’t be proud to have in my cellar!
2022 Bourgogne Côte d’Or
2 parcels in the bottom of Gevrey – Prunier & Grands Champs – 0.6 ha each.
A nice freshness overlays this pretty dark fruit. Silky, broad, becoming more velour – all whole-cluster (wc) – growing more and more intense – great finishing – not full open, maybe the recent bottling. Super wine for a Bourgogne!
2022 Marsannay Clos du Roy
0.47 ha in two parcels in the high, more limestone part. Second vintage for this – no surprise, double the volume of 2021 – 9 barrels instead of 4.
Round but with a more cool and fluid delivery. Juicy finishing – that’s a beauty!
2022 Gevery-Chambertin Clos du Couvent
Always the earliest growing parcel – mid-Gevrey surrounded by walls. The old park of the Convent that housed the cuverie of Varoilles – just a stone’s throw from the Mairie of Gevrey. Growth starts early here that so much was lost in 21 but it’s a place that is still harvested quite late.
A smaller but still fine and open nose of lovely fruit clarity that’s faintly floral too. A little extra depth and structure here – the texture more of velour with a hint of dryness – wait 1-2 years – this is delicious!
2022 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos des Meix des Ouches
A bit more than a hectare under Fontenys & Craipillots.
A smaller nose – not so open, just some pretty red fruit – in contrast with a beautiful and expressive palette and depth of favour, creamy finishing – great shape – so long. Super wine.
12 different parcels and 9 climats – 1.78 ha – or 40 ouvrées. 20 barrels in this vintage
More direct than wide – floral – it’s a proper Chambolle! Round, elegant, with a depth of very attractive flavour. That’s a beautiful, practically ‘cliché’ Chambolle – yes!
2022 Chambolle-Musigny Clos de l’Orme
0.36 ha – their largest parcel of villages Chambolle so vinified apart. 50% wc for this old-vine parcel of Plantes & Charmes – the last of the bottled wines. ‘At its best after 5-6 years.’
A hint more depth on this quite shy nose. Hmm, intense and a little round – a wine that needs to open out more but what depth of beautiful flavour. Framed with a tiny, slightly drying, tannin. Super depth of finishing flavour – mineral and vibrant finishing flavour. Yes wait 5 years it will be excellent!
All the following are barrel samples:
A parcel starting at Cros Parantoux and then heading up the hillside. Sandy limestone here – there’s 30m difference in height between the top and bottom of the parcel.
Ooh – that’s a super nose – more open and clearly vibrant fruit – that’s a beauty. Cool flavours, silky and broad. Oh – and what flavours! Fine texture – that’s a great villages – even in Vosne!
2022 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Champonnets
A slope here that heads up to Ruchottes – 1.15 ha of more clay soil in two parcels here – it’s the vines that are more different – so vinify the two parcels separately.
Broader and more floral perfumed. More intense, slightly structured with some small dryness to the tannin. That will be super but wait 2-3 years.
2022 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er La Romanée
The narrow band at the top of the hill but not that much slope as we have already reached the top here – pale soil – not much clay, it’s mainly the degenerated limestone as soil. An old source in the middle of these vines too. Over a hectare and not many barrels due to the frost – plus 1-2 more barrels were lost to the wild boar – who just got in before the harvest – this the last parcel to be harvested, usually. Even in 2023 – no big grapes here – that’s despite a small spring in the vineyard actually called La Romanée.
More forward aromatic, rounder, framed with some creamy notes. More sophisticated texture – the finest of velour – there’s no grain to this tannin. Slowly fading with elegant red fruit and a small generosity. Delicious wine.
The third new parcel of the domaine – 0.4 ha between the cemetery and the village. Here since 2021 after an exchange with Pousse d’Or
Completely different – quite airy, some spiced, probably wc aromatic complexity. Mouth-filling quite silky – generous and completely delicious. Ooh – that’s a great, complex, wonderful fruit finish. Potentially a great wine!
2022 Nuits St.Georges 1er Les Murgers
Very old vines here says Philippe. ‘Our only inconvenience is that the parcel is a little small at 0.21 ha’ – the smallest in our domaine – first vinified here in 2016. Only 2 barrels – planted by grandfather – the last of his vines to return to the domaine in 2015.
Very aromatic – some wc complexity (actually 100% used). Hmm, that’s really delicious with more red fruit – but perfumed by the stems too – framed with some tannin but hardly any grain or dryness. Strongly finishing with super complexity – an excellent Nuits!
It’s the appellation where I have the least variation in yield. 25 hl from 2 hectares. One-third towards the bottom I’m not looking for power, I’m looking for coherence. 2.05 ha – one of the largest owner – split in 2 parcles – one at the bottom next to the Port St.Martin – one of the historic entrances of the Clos which was a direct route to the Abbaye. The other two-thirds are from the mid-clos next to Liger-Belair on the Vosne side. A part returned to the domaine in 2015 which had been on fermage to the family Rion. Today the largest cuvée of the day.
A fine width of aroma – not powerful but airy and beautifully complex. In the mouth too – not a wine of impact but one of cool, complex width. An absolute beauty – hyper complex and a great – but not powerful – wine.
From the high part of Mazoyères opposite Latricières – 0.38 ha
A larger and more generous nose – with some higher-toned red fruit complexity. Actually, this is beautiful in the mouth, supple, wide and with a generous depth of flavour – a finish of really impressive weight and then persistence. That’s a great Charmes!
Les Whites:
2022 Marsannay Langeroies Blanc
A new parcel – 0.31 ha – ‘I’m happy to have this, it’s my only white and I liked making Charlemagne and Puligy during my time at Belland.’
A breadth of ripe but still fresh citrus – not quite exotic. Nice direction, fine intensity and a smally juicy finish – delicious after the reds!