The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes shows the pure power and intensity of the year in spades. Dark red stone fruits meld into expressive floral notes, but it is really the wine’s energy, depth and textural finesse that stand out most.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Combottes comes from 1.15-hectares of vineyard, with an average age of 30 years. It has a very precise bouquet that is wonderfully focused: subtle notes of red berry fruit with lifted mineralite. The palate is medium-bodied with fine definition, supple tannins: taut and focused with a linear but very fresh finish. This will probably need four or five years bottle age, but it has great potential.
- Burghound: This is also reduced if not quite as firmly as the Morey villages. This is extremely fine and pure with a knockout mouth feel to the restrained, pure and lacy medium-bodied flavors that are also shaped by fine-grained tannins on the mouth coating, understated and lingering finish where there is also a trace of austerity. This is not a big wine but as classic examples typically are, this is a Gevrey 1er of finesse and refinement plus it’s impeccably well-balanced. I would make the same observation here that while the reduction is a concern my score assumes that it will ultimately dissipate with a few years of bottle age.
Producer Information
Domaine Dujac is a highly regarded and critically lauded wine producer based in Burgundy’s Morey-Saint-Denis appellation. It makes high-quality wines from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, ranging from entry-level Bourgogne to wines made from some of the top Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte de Nuits, including Clos de la Roche and Le Chambertin. The domaine was founded in 1968 by Jacques Seysses, who had spent the previous few years travelling around Burgundy learning the craft from the likes of Aubert de Villaine at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Charles Rousseau of Domaine Armand Rousseau. He purchased a small, run-down property in Morey-Saint-Denis and planted some Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In the late 20th Century, Dujac expanded its estate, acquiring grand cru plots in Clos de la Roche (the domaine has just under two hectares/five acres here), Clos St-Denis (1.4 hectares/3.4 acres) and in northern Bonnes-Mares (nearly 0.6 hectares/1.5 acres). Dujac has also expanded further afield, taking control of plots in Romanée-Saint-Vivant (0.17 hectares/0.4 acres) and Le Chambertin (almost 0.3 hectares/0.7 acres), in Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin respectively. Further expansion has occurred in the range of white wines which now encompasses the Puligny-Montrachet premiers crus of Les Folatières and Les Combettes (acquired in 2014), as well as Les Monts Luisants closer to home in Morey. The family also runs a négoce firm, Dujac Fils & Père, set up in 2000, allowing fruit to be bought in as and when required. This label generally features fruit acquired around Morey and the nearby communes, pushing out into Nuits-Saint-Georges and Chambolle-Musigny. Jeremy Seysses gradually took over from his father Jacques after he started working at the domaine in 1998. He has since been joined by wife Diana and brother Alec. Since the 1960s, Dujac has made a few small changes to its winemaking style. Less new oak is used for the younger wines, and the winery is now air conditioned to allow for later malolactic fermentation. Traditionally, whole bunch pressing was used, but now the grapes undergo a small amount of destemming if ripeness levels are not high enough. Other than this, the wines have been made in the same way for half a century and are never filtered and very rarely fined.
