2018 Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy Gevrey-Chambertin "Vieilles Vignes", Burgundy, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

An “uber-classic” Gevrey sourced from multiple small parcels (covering more than four hectares) throughout the village which enables the wine to capture the true nature of this grand appellation; the youngest vines for this cuvée are 25 years of age with the oldest being 90 years old.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Gerard Harmand and his son, Philippe, now lead this family-run estate that was established in the late nineteenth century. The domaine encompasses nine hectares of vineyards, all planted to Pinot Noir and situated exclusively within the boundaries of the village of Gevrey Chambertin. The viticulture is traditional to its core: the soil is turned by tractor and by hand, herbicides are not used, all in the cause of permitting the roots to reach deeply in their search for “terroir”; no chemical fertilizers are applied nor are insecticides used; debudding is practiced to eliminate undesirable growth, a “vendange verte” is done when necessary and the harvest is, of course, manual.

The vinification is equally traditional: the grapes are destemmed 100%, there is a cold maceration extending at times to five days, the cuvaison unfolds over a 15 to 21 day period (depending on the “cru” and the vintage) under temperature-controlled conditions; the wine is then racked into barrel where the malo-lactic fermentation occurs and the wines are aged for approximately 16 months on the fine lees in small oak barrels (a certain percentage of which is new – more new oak for the more important, structured cuvées) before being bottled without filtration. The domaine recommends that their wines be decanted before service.

The Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy offers us the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the terroir of Gevrey Chambertin as the range of wines covers many of the most important vineyard sites in this fabled village.