Domaine Nicolas Burguet
BRAND OWNER
The Gevrey-Chambertin commune is small. It is just some 408 hectares of vineyards, but 26 Premier Cru and 9 Grand Cru fit in this space. Otherwise, this is a common sight in Burgundy, especially for those communes lucky enough to be in the southern and northern "kingdoms' ' of the Golden Slope: the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits. This is the greatness of the Burgundy vineyard, if you take it as a whole and its worldwide recognition in 2015, the delimited areas, the so-called Climats de Bourgogne were included in the UNESCO Heritage list. What makes the Gevrey-Chambertin commune noticeable among its neighbors? Firstly, it has the highest number of Grand Cru appellations. Generally, there are no more vineyards of the highest classification to the north of Gevrey-Chambertin — the most exquisite Pinot Noir sings their swan song right here.
Secondly, a bizarre kaleidoscope of soils, including brown limestone, sedimentary rocks and marl with fine rubble.
Secondly, a bizarre kaleidoscope of soils, including brown limestone, sedimentary rocks and marl with fine rubble.
The latter imparts a mineral elegance and delicacy to the wines, while the marl layers contain fossils that remind us of Burgundy’s "maritime" past .They give the wines a body and structure. As a rule, the vines are turned to the south and southeast. Thirdly, of course, is the historicity of the commune: the Gevrey-Chambertin vineyards have been known since the 7th century, most of them being managed by various monasteries until the Great French Revolution. Even after the revolution the stars were in favor of this region — Napoleon Bonaparte preferred one of the Chambertin Clos de Bèze to all wines. The latter, taking advantage of his fame, that did not fade after Napoleon’s abdication, raised its more modest "relatives" to Grand Cru status .It was granted to all Chambertins in 1937. The wines from Gevrey-Chambertin usually turn from bright ruby to dark cherry quite quickly, in their youth they are dominated by berry tones: strawberry, mulberry, cherry as well as violet and rose. With aging licorice, leather, undergrowth comes, in some instances shades of game cooked on a fire. The tannins tend to be velvety and unobtrusive, the alcohol level is serious.
The Chambertins have a reputation for long-aging wines and are an obvious aid to comparative tasting of different vintages, clearly expressing the characteristics of one year or another. Nicolas Burguet, a slash shoulders, a real French moujik, but with a hipster look and looks at you with ironic curiosity. He doesn’t seem to believe that it was his tiny household you were driving to, rather than getting lost somewhere along the road to one of the big names in Gevrey-Chambertin. "I don’t think the tasting will be long," Nicolas smiles, making sure that you have come to the right place, "after all, I have only two wines, and there are only a few bottles of two harvests left, for the guests and myself.". The rest, I don’t even ask, is sold out, the usual thing for small Burgundian vignerons, laboriously, like gnomes in the mines, working on their areas. In fact, the winegrowers and winemakers, also extract gold, only unlike gnomes, they willingly share it with the suffering. "I am a novice winemaker," our hero is modest, "my first harvest came in 2015, very favorable in quality and, thank God, the first after a series of years without hail — otherwise people like me risked being left without wine at all. For a long time our area was leased, and it was returned to ownership recently. I immediately decided to work without chemicals, I almost never interfere with the vinification, and I only add sulfur before bottling — it’s the only chance to offer my wine to the market. What’s the point of ruining an area of 47 acres with pesticides and other rubbish, because there are so many large industrial farms around! And I’m not rich enough to produce mediocre wine," Nicolas paraphrases one of the Rothschilds.
But we will try his Gevrey-Chambertin later, let’s start with Bourgogne Aligoté. This is the secret love of Nicolas Burguet, he considers this variety undeservedly forgotten and in a certain style not inferior to Chardonnay. "Look, it’s only recently that the Aligoté has received a single villager’s appellation,, while the rest of the vintners are content with just a regional Bourgogne Aligoté. I’m not complaining, I don’t need these regulations, but many feel deprived, and this is understandable."Nicolas is referring to the precedent of the AOC Bouzeron Village in Cote Chalonnaise (1998), where, thanks to the efforts of the famous Aubert de Villaine, Aligoté is the only allowed varietal. Meanwhile, there were times when Aligote was not perceived as secondary at all. Before the phylloxera epidemic its vines peacefully coexisted with Chardonnay in Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet, and no one was surprised by this fact.
Nor should it be thought that Aligote is not adapted to aging and should only be drunk at a young age. Certainly, in the first two years it has all the charm of youth (and this distinguishes it from many, even communal Chardonnay, which people hurry to buy guided only by a familiar word on the counter label), but it may also express terroir in a very interesting way when it matures. Yes, and aging in aligot barrels is also shown, contrary to the stereotype that it doesn’t go further than a steel vat. This is convincingly proved by Nicolas Burguet, whose aligote matures in barrels made of … acacia.
The Chambertins have a reputation for long-aging wines and are an obvious aid to comparative tasting of different vintages, clearly expressing the characteristics of one year or another. Nicolas Burguet, a slash shoulders, a real French moujik, but with a hipster look and looks at you with ironic curiosity. He doesn’t seem to believe that it was his tiny household you were driving to, rather than getting lost somewhere along the road to one of the big names in Gevrey-Chambertin. "I don’t think the tasting will be long," Nicolas smiles, making sure that you have come to the right place, "after all, I have only two wines, and there are only a few bottles of two harvests left, for the guests and myself.". The rest, I don’t even ask, is sold out, the usual thing for small Burgundian vignerons, laboriously, like gnomes in the mines, working on their areas. In fact, the winegrowers and winemakers, also extract gold, only unlike gnomes, they willingly share it with the suffering. "I am a novice winemaker," our hero is modest, "my first harvest came in 2015, very favorable in quality and, thank God, the first after a series of years without hail — otherwise people like me risked being left without wine at all. For a long time our area was leased, and it was returned to ownership recently. I immediately decided to work without chemicals, I almost never interfere with the vinification, and I only add sulfur before bottling — it’s the only chance to offer my wine to the market. What’s the point of ruining an area of 47 acres with pesticides and other rubbish, because there are so many large industrial farms around! And I’m not rich enough to produce mediocre wine," Nicolas paraphrases one of the Rothschilds.
But we will try his Gevrey-Chambertin later, let’s start with Bourgogne Aligoté. This is the secret love of Nicolas Burguet, he considers this variety undeservedly forgotten and in a certain style not inferior to Chardonnay. "Look, it’s only recently that the Aligoté has received a single villager’s appellation,, while the rest of the vintners are content with just a regional Bourgogne Aligoté. I’m not complaining, I don’t need these regulations, but many feel deprived, and this is understandable."Nicolas is referring to the precedent of the AOC Bouzeron Village in Cote Chalonnaise (1998), where, thanks to the efforts of the famous Aubert de Villaine, Aligoté is the only allowed varietal. Meanwhile, there were times when Aligote was not perceived as secondary at all. Before the phylloxera epidemic its vines peacefully coexisted with Chardonnay in Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet, and no one was surprised by this fact.
Nor should it be thought that Aligote is not adapted to aging and should only be drunk at a young age. Certainly, in the first two years it has all the charm of youth (and this distinguishes it from many, even communal Chardonnay, which people hurry to buy guided only by a familiar word on the counter label), but it may also express terroir in a very interesting way when it matures. Yes, and aging in aligot barrels is also shown, contrary to the stereotype that it doesn’t go further than a steel vat. This is convincingly proved by Nicolas Burguet, whose aligote matures in barrels made of … acacia.
