James Suckling (94)

Wonderful nose of yellow roses, fresh pineapple and jasmine, with delicately spicy overtones. Stunning ripeness and concentration, but even more importantly, almost impeccable balance for a grape variety that’s a winemaker’s nightmare. Very long, silky finish, where the 15% alcohol is barely perceptible. Drink or hold.

Vinous (91)

Good full red. Roasted, liqueur-like nose offers almost pruney ripeness along with a note of menthol and the dried-fruit suggestions of a hot, sunny vintage. Large-scaled and powerful, with its dense, thick roasted fruit, menthol and mocha flavors given shape by adequate acidity. Finishes with strong, slightly drying tannins and a suggestion of orange zest. More impressive than classy or classic, this wine lacks the definition of most of the subsequent vintages at my tasting. Trapet noted that the growing season featured an early bud break and flowering, with substantial millerandage, followed by a very early veraison around July 25, but the drought slowed maturity and the harvest did not take place until September 23. This was the first year the estate carried out a green harvest, he added. (12.75% alcohol)

Vinous (91)

Very full, dark red, which Trapet says was due to the long growing season, the small clusters and the thick skins--and possibly the quantity of bouillie bordelaise--a fungicide made from water, copper sulfate and lime--Trapet applied to protect his vines against an outbreak of oidium. Deeply pitched aromas of medicinal dark fruits, black licorice and truffley underbrush. Quite broad and densely packed but a bit musclebound, lacking the class, subtlety and sweetness of the outstanding '99. (I found this wine much more silky and complex at the outset.) A rather extreme and slightly dry-edged style, finishing with dusty tannins and some herbal impingements. Notes of licorice, spices and flowers give lift to the middle palate but I suspect this wine will turn even drier with more time in bottle. Early on, I read it as energetically extracted, but I suspect that it's simply the product of its extreme growing season. According to Trapet, April was cold and May was hot, leading to an early flowering that was difficult and drawn out in some parcels. Favorable sunny weather after July 9 led to quick ripening in spite of the oidium issues and the veraison took place around August 10 in very hot weather. There was more rain after that, and a very cool period in late August, but the small, thick-skinned grapes resisted the moisture and the Chambertin was picked on September 26 under sunny conditions. (13.15% alcohol; 3.58 pH; 3.8 g/l acidity; 34 h/h; this was Trapet's first year working his vines totally organically)

Vinous (92)

Medium red. At once mature and vibrant on the nose, offering rich scents of plum, tobacco, spices, mocha and underbrush. A juicy, spicy wine with modest flesh and texture but intriguing vinosity. Aeration brought fresher red fruits and even more energy and thrust. A savory, classically dry, middle-of-the-road style, displaying a captivating juicy coolness and better integration of acidity and tannins than the '04. A beauty in the context of its vintage. Trapet told me that this wine's malolactic fermentation did not finish until the summer of 2002. (13.3% alcohol; 3.55 pH; 3.6 g/l acidity; 39.5 h/h)

Vinous (92)

Moderately saturated medium red with a faint brick aspect. Musky aromas of red raspberry and mocha began a bit earthy and low-toned but gained in freshness with aeration. Silky and rather generous in the context of its vintage, conveying a strong spice character to its flavors of cherry, red berries and earth. The wine's fruit and tannins reveal a slight dry edge but this very savory Chambertin also boasts a subtle, sexy sweetness. The tannins turn a bit dusty with air, and I wonder if they will ever be fully integrated. (13.2% alcohol; 3.45 pH, 3.6 g/l acidity; 38 h/h)

Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (97)

Good medium red. Knockout soil-inflected nose offers raspberry, smoke, minerals and game, with a noble suggestion of white pepper; as in so many past vintages, this wine combines the best traits of Trapet's Latricieres and Chapelle. Densely packed and spherical on the palate, but also powerful and quite pure, with no sign of excess weight. Wonderfully savory, palate-staining wine, finishing with silky, refined tannins and terrific lingering perfume. A distinctly saline quality adds complexity to this beauty in the making. Like so many 2009s, this wine should be approachable fairly early-say in three or four years-but should also last well.

Vinous (95)

The 2013 Chambertin Grand Cru was picked on 6 October. It is perfumed and surprisingly floral on the nose. Peony and iris touches complement the dark berry fruit with hints of cola and brown spices. This 2013 shows certainly one of the most complex and vivacious aromatics that I have found in this vintage after a decade. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, fine depth and structure. It's grainy in texture with a slightly attenuated and white pepper-tinged finish. This has another 10-15 years to give. One of the over-performers in this vintage.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (96)

I have not been looking at a lot of 2015s recently, so it is really interesting in how this has opened up substantially on the nose, with already some secondary characteristics in the bouquet, albeit with a more youthful fruit on the palate. Then come the tannins, followed by a slightly more evolved finish with mulberries in the mix.

Burghound (97)

Interestingly this is aromatically quite similar to the nose of the Latricières though there is just a bit more wood in evidence plus a hint of menthol. By contrast there is more size, weight, power and muscle to the big-bodied and equally mineral-driven flavors that also brim with copious amounts of dry extract that coats the palate and buffers the very firm but not hard tannic backbone on the driving, hugely long and youthfully austere finale. This is an exquisitely poised Chambertin that is very much built-to-age and is going to need a minimum of 10 years and once again, is a wine that should last for decades. In a word, brilliant.

The wines of Domaine Trapet are the epitome of Burgundian elegance, purity, and finesse. Vinification techniques depend on the vintage but generally consist of a brief period of cold maceration, followed by fermentation in open top wood fermenters with partial inclusion of stems (30 to 50%). Maceration is long and slow, with delicate extraction via punch-down and then gentle pump-overs in the later stages. Sulphur is added only at bottling, in minute doses.

 

The three magnificent Grand Crus Domaine Trapet owns in Gevrey-Chambertin are in top echelons and again in 2016, Le Chambertin under Jean-Louis’ care, has received outstanding reviews. The Trapet Pere & Fils Chambertin Grand Cru 2016 is awarded a 95-97 pts from Neal Martin (Wine Advocate) and 93-96 pts from Allen Meadows (Burghound).

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (96+)

Mid crimson colour. Perhaps a fractional reduction, certainly a less expressive nose first up. Now the depth is building. Bright dense concentrated, backward, some drier tannins but just to provide long term structure. Good acid balance too. This keeps getting better. 96+ Maybe 97?

Vinous (98)

The 2018 Chambertin Grand Cru has a transparent and very Pinoté nose. Pretty and elegant, quite mineral driven with very impressive focus. This has the aromatics precision of a Swiss clock - ethereal. The palate is velvety smooth with fine depth, slightly creamy in texture due to the new oak. Quite lavish though not ostentatious, it delivers haunting tension on the finish. Ethereal. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting.

Decanter (99)

Velvety and dense, showing enchanting approachability even at this early stage. There are forward, sweet aromas of red and black plum, cassis, and bramble on the nose, with a distinct floral edge and a hint of liquorice. There is enough extract to suggest that, despite its approachability, this will age for decades to come. Made with grapes from two well-placed parcels in the centre of Chambertin, running from the bottom nearly to the top of the slope.

Decanter (99)

Velvety and dense, showing enchanting approachability even at this early stage. There are forward, sweet aromas of red and black plum, cassis, and bramble on the nose, with a distinct floral edge and a hint of liquorice. There is enough extract to suggest that, despite its approachability, this will age for decades to come. Made with grapes from two well-placed parcels in the centre of Chambertin, running from the bottom nearly to the top of the slope.