2011 Gevrey-Chambertin, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Sylvie Esmonin, Burgundy
- Red
- Dry
- Medium Bodied
- Pinot Noir
Ready - at best
- Neal Martin MW
- 91/100
- Allen Meadows
- 89-92/100
Product: 20111031120
Description
At least 60% whole bunch fermentation and the same percentage of new wood were used to create this excellent Gevrey-Chambertin. The wine shows solid dense red fruit, dark cherry notes and an interesting and complex structure from the stems, with refreshing acidity and light tannins. This is a very promising wine indeed.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Sylvie began picking on 3rd September, the earliest ever at this domaine, and she notes that the wines have kept an attractive freshness, which you might not expect in an early vintage. The stems were also ripe enough for her to slightly increase the proportion of whole bunch fermentation, and there were hardly any unhealthy grapes to be deselected, so yields are slightly better than for 2010.
Jasper divides his time between England and Burgundy. His unique position led him to write the ultimate guide to the vineyards of the region, Inside Burgundy. Described as “the greatest reference work of our generation” by Bill Nanson (www.burgundyreport. com), and “an essential book for anyone remotely interested in the region and its wines” by Neal Martin (www.erobertparker.com), this outstandingly detailed book, in 656 pages, covers one thousand specific vineyards, from Grands Crus to obscure plots.
Jasper Morris MW’s award-winning classic volume ‘Inside Burgundy’ is now available as a series of beautifully designed, interactive, Multi- Touch eBooks for the iPad and iPad Mini.
Inside Burgundy: The Côte de Beaune is the first volume is available for £14.99 on the Apple iBookStore. It is accompanied by the first edition of an innovative new Annual Report on Burgundy by Jasper Morris. Inside Burgundy The Annual Report 2012/13 is downloadable for free.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Sylvie began picking on 3rd September, the earliest ever at this domaine, and she notes that the wines have kept an attractive freshness, which you might not expect in an early vintage. The stems were also ripe enough for her to slightly increase the proportion of whole bunch fermentation, and there were hardly any unhealthy grapes to be deselected, so yields are slightly better than for 2010.
Jasper divides his time between England and Burgundy. His unique position led him to write the ultimate guide to the vineyards of the region, Inside Burgundy. Described as “the greatest reference work of our generation” by Bill Nanson (www.burgundyreport. com), and “an essential book for anyone remotely interested in the region and its wines” by Neal Martin (www.erobertparker.com), this outstandingly detailed book, in 656 pages, covers one thousand specific vineyards, from Grands Crus to obscure plots.
Jasper Morris MW’s award-winning classic volume ‘Inside Burgundy’ is now available as a series of beautifully designed, interactive, Multi- Touch eBooks for the iPad and iPad Mini.
Inside Burgundy: The Côte de Beaune is the first volume is available for £14.99 on the Apple iBookStore. It is accompanied by the first edition of an innovative new Annual Report on Burgundy by Jasper Morris. Inside Burgundy The Annual Report 2012/13 is downloadable for free.
Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2011
Maturity Ready - at best
Grape List Pinot Noir
Body Medium Bodied
Producer Domaine Sylvie Esmonin
Critics reviews
Neal Martin MW 91/100
The 2011 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes has more volume on the nose compared to the village cru, and here the forest-floor scents are complemented by marine influences, seaweed and brine even. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins on the entry. It is quite chalky in texture and then towards the finish there is a sweet iodine and black-olive-compote tincture that is unexpected. This is a complex Gevrey-Chambertin that deserves several years in bottle. Drink 2016-2030.Neil Martin - 27/02/2014
Drink 2016 - 2030
Allen Meadows 89-92/100
“Sweet Spot” Wines from the 2011 Vintage A ripe, airy and attractively layered nose features a broad ranging array of scents that include dark berry liqueur, floral elements, spice nuances and plenty of pungent earth aromas. There is excellent density to the extract-rich medium weight plus flavors that retain a fine sense of underlying tension before culminating in a balanced and strikingly penetrating finish. This offers an interesting contrast between the muscle of the mid-palate and the finesse of the backend. This should age extremely well and is one of the better villages wines of the vintage so don’t miss it. allen_meadows - burghound_com.com - issue 49 - Jan 2013
Drink 2016 - 2030
About this wine
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or. Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
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Domaine Sylvie Esmonin
Sylvie's grandfather worked for the Comte de Moucheron, former sole owners of the great Clos St Jacques vineyard. When the Comte had to sell up, he bought a portion of the vineyard along with his house. Michel Esmonin, Sylvie's father, helped to develop the domaine, but sold the wines mostly in bulk. Sylvie came back to help her father on the condition that everything was bottled at the domaine, and she is now in sole charge. No herbicides have been used since 1990 and the domaine is farmed more or less organically, though not systematically so. Sylvie now tends to pick later than her father did and with lower yields. This, combined with a different oak regime in the cellar has noticeably changed the style of wine here since the turn of the millennium. The juice is allowed to start fermenting quickly, with some punching down to break up the whole bunches which are now used for the top cuvees, encouraging the sugars to ferment. Total vatting time is around two weeks, before decanting the wine into barrel, including a high proportion of new wood especially from Dominique Laurent’s cooperage. The wines are extremely stylish with typical Gevrey firmness but displaying also a silky elegance. Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.
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