#charmeschambertin

When: February 5, 2019

Where: Alt Hotel East Village Calgary

At the invite of our new friend, Tara Zenon from Delf Wines, we braved the frigid cold to taste through 15 wines from Domaines Albert Bichot with export director Delphine de la Fouchardière.  The house of Bichot have been in the wine business since 1831 and as a negotiant and grower, have gone through a quality revolution starting in the early 1990′s.  The company’s vineyards now total 6 estates that cover Burgundy from north to south and we had a chance to taste through a selection of these wines from the 2015 to 2017 vintages.  

To preface, it is important to note the friendly and informative approach of Ms. de la Fourchardière. Managing pouring and providing information to an audience of wine professionals is a challenge but she was up to the task. With a smile and quick wit, she’d showcase vineyard locations and provide harvest details and perspectives helping make sense of this complex array of wines. 

Starting in Chablis, we assessed the 2017 Chablis Village and the 2015 Grand Cru Les Vaudésirs from Domaine Long~Depaquit. Both wines showcased beautiful purity of fruit and terroir where notes of lemon, slate with the grand cru granted added complexity with secondary notes of straw, white tea and flowers.  The warmth and ripeness of the 2015 vintage is on display here, no doubt. Expect pricing to be in the $41 retail range for the regular Chablis and about $110 for the Grand Cru.  

Moving to the southeast in Burgundy about 100km, we arrived at vineyards  for some expressions of Chardonnay.  With all wines from the 2016 vintage, we started with the Bourgogne Hautes - Côtes de Nuits ($36), that showed a nice level of drink-ability with a round ripeness carried by lemony citrus and a clean, acid kissed finish. The Clos De Mouches Beaune 1er Cru ($160) was wound up tight still but the foundation for this wine from the Vineyard of the Bees is sound.  Lemon, grapefruit with solid core of mineral tinged acid make this hard to resist now. Cellaring to 2025 is highly recommended.  We rounded out the whites with Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru ($255) and this is everything you’d expect and more from fruit sourced from these pedigreed vines. Beautiful aromatics of white flowers, butterscotch and lemon carried the same elegant characters on the palate that included notes of hazelnut. The finish is long, evolving with time in the cellar only enhancing the total experience. 

From the Grand and Premier Cru vineyards where Chardonnay shines, we moved to the Còte de Nuits with a comparison of vintage and vineyard leading with the 2015 Gevrey - Chambertin Les Evocelles ($110). This village wine showcased a beautiful perfume and palate with notes of red currant, earth framed by sandalwood and a roundness in the mouth accentuated by the vintages hot, dry summer.  We moved to the 1er cru naughty neighbor vineyard of Romanee-Conti in the 2016 Vosne - Romanee Les Malconsorts ($255).  2016 had a tall order in following the almost perfect conditions of 2015 but this vintage of Les Malconsort has fine floral notes alongside layers of dark cherry. The pedigree of the terroir shines here and likely this is the closest that most will get to the storied wines of Romanee Conti. Certainly not inexpensive but not out of the realm of splurge / cellar worthy should the occasion call. The tasting finished with a duo of Grand Cru expressions from the great 2015 vintage and while these were wound up tight, it is easy to see what investing in these will bring: massive enjoyment. In terms of early accessibility, the Echezeaux Grand Cru ($327) led as a monolith of red and black berry with notes of licorice, spice, cola and a finish that soared for minutes. The Clos de La Roche Grand Cru ($375) was more stately and quiet than its Echezeaux kin with red berry fruit, oak notes and light spice carrying the experience. This one is built for the long haul and should be revisited in 2025 and beyond. Last but not least was the 2016 Charmes - Chambertin Grand Cru ($312) whose palate and aroma were eclipsed by the Echezeaux only by virtue of the Charmes being slightly more closed down. The structure, fruit and terroir were all present and if the opportunity presents to reassess this alongside the other great Grand Cru wines from 2015 say in 10 years, I would imagine a different outcome.  

Overall, this was an outstanding introduction to the wines of Albert Bichot and I am excited to see these wines in restaurants and fine wine markets across Alberta.  Thanks to Tara, Delphine from Albert Bichot and the staff from the venue Alt Hotel for the amazing tasting.