2007 Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos Saint-Jacques, 1er Cru, Domaine Sylvie Esmonin, Burgundy

2007 Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos Saint-Jacques, 1er Cru, Domaine Sylvie Esmonin, Burgundy

Product: 20078000486
 
2007 Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos Saint-Jacques, 1er Cru, Domaine Sylvie Esmonin, Burgundy

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX

Description

This Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos St Jacques is as dense and dark a wine as anybody has made in 2007, with 70% whole bunch fermentation and 100% new oak. Between them these features give a smoky spice overtone above the concentrated dark fruit, and a really long finish; this is an extraordinary and luxuriant wine.
Jasper Morris MW-Burgundy Director  There’s a sense of ‘lift’ here, with some real class too. There’s fruit to the fore, but behind this and as it develops in the mouth, there’s a great deal more too. It shows balance and a lightness of touch, but not without Gevrey’s reassuring weight – a sign of a top grade terroir. A strong finish, with this level of fruit, suggests more to come but I would have no hesitation to enjoy now.
Tom Cave, BBR Fine Wine

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

Critics reviews

Burghound89-92/100
A subtle touch of wood spice frames equally ripe but distinctly more elegant red berry fruit, stone and warm earth aromas that lead to pure, refined and focused medium-bodied flavors that do possess that extra dimension of depth and length. Lovely stuff with class and impeccable balance.
Allen Meadows, Burghound Read more
Wine Advocate92/100
Ripe, lightly-cooked plum and black raspberry; charred red meat; rose petal; and fungal forest floor render Esmonin’s 2007 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St.-Jacques aromatically complex and its subtly silken palate similarly multifaceted and intriguing. A hint of salinity helps preserve a lip-smacking savor in the haunting finish, even given the slightly austere note of wet stone that emerges. This ought to be one of those few 2007s worth following for more than a decade.
David Schildknecht - Wine Advocate - Jun-2010 Read more
Jancis Robinson MW18.5/20
Lovely scent. Very grown-up! Compellingly intense nose. Essence of minerally blackberry. Wonderful texture. Sweet start then there is great excitement on the palate. Dances. Not heavy, not tough. Very healthy grapes apparently. Dry finish. Liquorice. The first wine to have black cherries. Lots of whole berries. Vital.
Jancis Robinson-jancisrobinson.com-19-Jun-09 Read more
Stephen Tanzer91/100
Bright dark red. Sexy, deep nose combines black raspberry, smoked meat, bitter chocolate and minerals, with a slightly musky note of reduction. Large-scaled, sweet and rich, with lush black cherry and chocolate flavors accented by pepper and spice nuances. A very ripe wine that finishes with big but sweet tannins and a gamey element. But doesn't have quite the perfume and lift I look for in great Clos Saint-Jacques.
Stephen Tanzer Read more

About this WINE

Domaine Sylvie Esmonin

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.

Find out more
Gevrey-Chambertin

Gevrey-Chambertin

Gevrey-Chambertin is the largest wine-producing village in Burgundy’s Côte d'Or, with its vineyards spilling over into the next door commune of Brochon.

Located in the far north of the Côtes de Nuits above Morey-St Denis, classic Gevrey-Chambertin is typically deeper in colour, firmer in body and more tannic in structure than most red Burgundy. The best can develop into the richest, most complete and long-lived Pinot Noir in the world. This is largely thanks to the iron-rich clay soils, though much depends on whether the vineyard is located on either the steeper slopes (Evocelles, Clos St Jacques) or the flatter, richer soils (Clos Prieur, Combottes).

Whereas in the past there have been numerous underperformers in Gevrey-Chambertin exploiting the reputation of this famous village and its iconic Grands Crus, today there are many fine sources to choose from, and overall quality is higher than ever.

Gevrey-Chambertin’s greatest Grand Cru is named after the field of the monk Bertin (Champ de Bertin). In 1847, Gevrey appended the name of this illustrious vineyard, Chambertin, setting a trend for the other principle villages to follow. Le Chambertin may not be quite as sumptuous as Musigny or Richebourg, or as divinely elegant as La Tâche or Romanée-St Vivant, but it is matched only by the legendary Romanée-Conti for completeness and luscious intensity.

In all, Gevrey boasts an impressive nine Grands Crus, with the name of Chambertin retaining a regal omnipresence throughout its finest vineyard names. The other truly great Grand Cru is Chambertin-Clos de Bèze which has the right to sell its wines simply as ‘Chambertin’, and is the only wine allowed to put the Chambertin name before, rather than after, its own. Situated slightly further up the hill, the wines are fractionally less powerful yet full of sensual charm and finesse.

Quality-wise the next best are generally acknowledged to be Mazis-Chambertin and Latricières-Chambertin. The former is incredibly concentrated and very fine, but its structure is a little less firm than Le Chambertin. Latricières is less about power (although it can be explosively fruity) and more about an entrancing silkiness.

Situated slightly higher up the slope, Ruchottes-Chambertin is impressively rich, stylish and slightly angular. The tiny Griottes-Chambertin, which owes its name to the grill-pan shape of the vineyard rather than the wine’s griotte cherry aroma, is lower down the slope and boasts a velvety texture and rich fruit reminiscent of Chambertin itself. It is generally better than the lighter, although wonderfully fragrant Chapelle-Chambertin and Gevrey’s largest Grand Cru, the pure and seductive (if variable) Charmes-Chambertin.

Gevrey also has some outstanding Premier Crus on the south-east-facing slopes above the town. Les Cazetiers and especially Clos St Jacques produce some exceptional wines. Indeed Armand Rousseau, who pioneered domaine bottling here in the 1930s and is still one of the region’s very best producers, often sells his Clos St Jacques for more than several of his Grand Crus.

Drinking dates for these wines vary, but Grand Crus are generally best from at least 10 to 25 years, Premier Crus from eight to 20 years, and village wines from five to 12 years.

  • 315 hectares of village Gevrey Chambertin
  • 84 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards (20 in all). The foremost vineyards include Clos St Jacques, Lavaux St Jacques, Combottes, Corbeaux, Cherbaudes, Cazetiers.
  • 55 hectares of Grand Cru vineyards: Chambertin, Chambertin Clos de Bèze, Latricières-Chambertin, Ruchottes-Chambertin, Mazis-Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin, Mazoyères-Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin, Griottes-Chambertin..
  • Recommended producers:  Bachelet, Dugat, Esmonin, Mortet, Rossignol Trapet, Rousseau, Serafin, Bernstein
  • Recommended restaurants : Chez Guy (good wine list), Rôtisserie du Chambertin (and Bistro)

Find out more
Pinot Noir

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.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.

Find out more