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Domaine Gérard Raphet, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvee Unique

Burgundy, France 2019 (750mL)
$195.00
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Domaine Gérard Raphet, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvee Unique

Over the last few years, the sumptuous reds of Domaine Gérard Raphet have catapulted to the top of our wish list. And it’s not just because of Grand Cru stunners like today’s, but more quotidian bottlings too, like their amazing Bourgogne Rouge “Les Grands Champs” (a SommSelect value all-star many vintages running).


Raphet has you covered top-to-bottom, and today we’re excitedly perched at the top: Grand Cru Charmes-Chambertin. Having made several pilgrimages to the Raphet property and tasted through many vintages of the family’s diverse lineup of wines, my takeaway on this Charmes-Chambertin is that it’s the woodsiest, most masculine, most age-worthy bottling in the bunch. Raphet wines are often rich and quite accessible young, and this one’s no different, but it also holds something back for later, too. Meanwhile, if I’m looking for a Burgundy that epitomizes the character of classic Gevrey-Chambertin, this is as good as it gets—especially when you consider its impressive value compared to other bottles from this vineyard, which boasts a who’s-who of big-name, big-ticket owners (Rousseau, Ponsot, Dujac, and many others). This is a thrillingly delicious Grand Cru red no Burgundy fanatic can afford to miss, though, as is often the case with elite wines, we can only offer up to six bottles per customer until our allocation runs out.


And if you value true farmstead-scale winemaking, this is it: Gérard Raphet, who took over the domaine from his father in 2005, manually works the vines with the help of his wife, Sylviane, and their daughter, Virginie. Theirs is the old-school lutte raisonnée, or ‘reasoned fight,’ approach—a methodology that calls for only organic treatments in the vineyards, extreme circumstances dictate otherwise. 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 oak barrels (roughly 15% new) for between 12 to 18 months. Based in Morey-Saint-Denis, the Raphet domaine extends throughout the Côte de Nuits, with about 12 hectares in vineyards spread across Morey, Gevrey-Chambertin, and Chambolle-Musigny.



Just downslope from the “Le Chambertin” Grand Cru in the village of Gevrey-Chambertin, “Charmes” is said to have a slight northern tilt to its easterly aspect, resulting in wines that are marginally less sun-exposed (and therefore less intense) than some of its Grand Cru neighbors. Gevrey-Chambertin, in general, produces some of the burliest versions of Burgundy Pinot Noirs, and while this wine has a firm structure, there’s also a level of lift and refinement that reflect the conventional wisdom regarding this site. Raphet farms four separate parcels in the vineyard and created a deeply mineral, highly evocative wine from the site in 2017. (It is also worth noting that the neighboring Charmes-Chambertin (12 hectares) and Mazoyères-Chambertin (18 hectares) vineyards are often lumped together because many wines sourced from the Mazoyères portion are labeled as “Charmes.” Raphet’s parcels are in Charmes proper, which is considered the superior of the two.)



In the glass, Raphet’s 2017 Charmes-Chambertin is a deep garnet red, with powerful aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, licorice, black tea, and dark, humid soil. Whereas the 2016 was explosive, exuberant, and tantalizingly ready-to-drink on release, this version is a little more structured and suggestive of a long life in the cellar ahead. If enjoying a bottle now, decant it a good hour before serving at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems. Lose the remaining bottles in a cool, dark corner of your cellar and re-visit them 5, 10, and 15 years down the line, all the while reveling in its luxuriousness and classic “Gevrey” power, persistence and woodsiness. This really is Gevrey Pinot Noir at its absolute best, requiring a dish of some substance and style to complement it. It’s awfully hard to beat a well-prepared duck confit, so why even try? Make it happen and enjoy!
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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceCharmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Soil
Limestone & Clay
Farming
'Lutte Raisonnée'
Blend
Pinot Noir 100%
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
Partial New French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2030
Decanting
One Hour
Pairing
Duck Confit

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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