Domaine Gérard Raphet produces wines from the Bourgogne all the way up to Grand Cru. Gérard Raphet, who took over the Domaine from his father in 2002, manually works his vines which are located mostly in the Côte de Nuits. He farms his vineyards with an approach known as “lutte raisonnée,” which literally translates to ‘the reasoned struggle.’ This method of farming implies using only organic products in the vineyards, unless under extreme circumstances for difficult vintages. With this in mind, Gérard and his team use traditional cultivation methods and harvest only by hand. The grapes undergo strict sorting before fermentation with natural yeasts, and then the wines are put in French barrels, roughly 15%-25% new oak, for between twelve to eighteen months depending on the wine. This particular wine is from Les Bussières, a village classified lieu-dit touching the Premier Cru Les Sentiers which runs into the famous Grand Cru Bonnes Mares above. If you look at a map you will notice these run along the border of the Morey Saint Denis appellation. Here the soils have a bit more clay lending a touch more body and structure to the wine, akin to the style of Morey, but the wine still has the soul of Chambolle.