Domaine Jean CHAUVENET --2013s from Cask

 Domaine Jean CHAUVENET (Nuits-Saint-Georges)

My first visit to this estate was about 25 years ago, when Jean Chauvenet was still making the wines. I found them impossibly tannic, as I did on my next visit a few years later. I didn’t return again until the mid- or late-1990s, by which time Chauvenet’s son-in-law, Christophe Drag, had taken over, and I found great improvement in the wines.

About a decade ago, Drag and the longtime US importer of Chauvenet, Neal Rosenthal, had a falling-out unrelated to the quality of the wines; since then, the wines have been only sporadically available in the US through local importers. The Rosenthal relationship has been patched up, though, and Rosenthal is once again the US importer.

Over the years, Christophe continued to make minor changes to the wines, improving them (in my opinion) and also making them more approachable young and hence more saleable. Perhaps with these 2013s, Christophe has gone too far in emphasizing approachability (one often sees this when producers attempt to modify their styles); the wines are still very good, but would be still better with a bit more structure and less creaminess, to my taste, anyway. Knowing the style of wine that Rosenthal likes, I expect we’ll see a bit more firmness come back in future years.

2013s from Cask

As did everyone, Christophe said that 2013 was a difficult year: mildew, lots of rain (some vines were in standing water that had to be pumped out), the late and extended flowering, with a midpoint on June 25 (three weeks later than normal). He began harvesting on October 5 – one has to go back to 1978 for a later harvest here. He did do a saignée (bleeding of the vats) for some wines, but in general he said he had to be careful not to do too intense an extraction. Acidities are relatively high here and malolactic fermentations were late – 3-4 weeks later than usual. He is thinking of bottling in March and April, normal times.

2013 Bourgogne

The nose of dark cherry fruit is most attractive. The mouth shows simple red cherries and is neither deep nor complex, although this medium-weight wine overall is pleasing enough. (84-88)

2013 Vosne-Romanée

All of this wine comes from the Ravioles lieu-dit in the southeast corner of the Vosne-Romanée appellation (the Nuits Allots and Lavières lieux-dits are immediately upslope). The vines are in a single parcel, part dating from 1955-56, part from 1978-79, so now they are quite mature. No pebbles in the vineyard here. The wine shows spiced plum fruit, some chocolate, and a smooth texture. (87-90)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges

This cuvée is entirely from vines in the Saint-Jacques and Allots lieux-dits. The nose features dark berries. The mouth has dark berry fruit that is very fine for Nuits. The density and length are admirable and although there are some tannins showing, the wine has a smooth texture. (88-91)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges   Aux Lavières

The nose here shows spiciness, alerting to the fact that we are near Vosne-Romanée. The mouth is creamy with acidity underneath and a little toast shows through along with the dark fruit. This is not as well-integrated when I taste it as the regular Nuits, but there is promise here. (87-90)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru –  Les Damodes

Damodes is the vineyard above Boudots and like Boudots, it borders on Vosne-Romanée. The texture is creamy, the fruit dark, and the wine is ripe with ripe tannic underpinnings. One doesn’t sense the height on the hill here. (88-91)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru – Aux Argillas

The nose here is perfumed. The mouth is creamy with a tannic underpinning to the blackberry fruit. The wine has more structure and tannin than the Damodes. (88-92)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru – Aux Bousselots

The nose of the Bousselots is finely spiced. The mouth shows blackberries, finesse, lightness on the palate, penetration, and freshness. There are some tannins here, but they are fine. (88-92)

The preceding Nuits wines had all been sourced from the Vosne slope of Nuits. The remaining ones are from the slope just south of Nuits, which generally gives harder wines.

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru – Rue de Chaux

The Rue de Chaux has mineral dark fruit, a smooth texture, and depth. This would seem to be a wine for drinking relatively young, notwithstanding its sourcing from the slope south of Nuits. (88-92)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru – Les Poulettes

Because of the small holdings that Chauvenet has, in 2010 and 2012 the wine from Poulettes was blended into the Nuits village. In 2013, there is enough for a separate bottling. The vines are in a little amphitheater, giving them excellent exposure to the sun, and so Christophe always harvests early here. The texture here is smooth with violet and dark berry fruit, elegance, lightness, and fine acidity. There is some minerality here, too. (88-92)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru – Les Perrières

The vines here were planted in 1948. The nose is stony and mineral, just as one expects from Perrières. The mouth is mineral with dark fruit and the finesse of the vintage and good structure. This wine is a step up from the preceding ones. (90-93)

2013 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru – Les Vaucrains

We finish with the top vineyard here, and arguably the top vineyard in Nuits. The nose is deep and stony – classic Vaucrains. The mouth shows more depth and breadth with concentrated dark, mineral fruit, but also smoothness and roundness. (90-94)