While tasting this wine, we leafed through its importer’s catalog, which described the “rugged beauty” of Gevrey-Chambertin and the “earthy seduction” of its wines. And we’ve got to say, they really nailed it; earthy, seductive, and ruggedly beautiful would all be apt descriptors for this 2014 Bourgogne Rouge from Domaine des Tilleuls.
Based in Gevrey-Chambertin and sourcing this bottling from an estate vineyard just outside the village, they’ve crafted a deeper, much more substantial wine than you might expect from something with the catch-all ‘Bourgogne’ moniker. These kinds of wines are our bread and butter at SommSelect—the ones that don’t tell you their whole story on the label, but speak volumes with what’s inside the bottle. This affordable 2014 is generous enough to drink with pleasure right now, but there’s enough stuffing to lay it down for a few years. At this price-to-quality, what more could we ask for?
Owing at least some of its uncommon depth to the powerful 2014 vintage, this wine displays a deep ruby-red core with garnet and pink reflections at the rim. The aromatics are forward and generous, even at this young stage, with notes of brambly black cherry, blackberry, damp flowers, wood smoke, turned earth, and baking spices. Unlike many austere, clipped Bourgogne Rouge-level wines, this one offers rather lush fruit concentration checked by a firm backbone of tannin, and I can see it aging well for 5+ years in proper cellar conditions. However, with a rough decanting and about 30 minutes of air, this wine is quite accessible now, showing off the ‘masculine’ side of Pinot Noir that roots it so clearly in Gevrey-Chambertin. Serve it at around 65 degrees in large Burgundy stems alongside a simple beef stew or a saucy, gutsy steak au poivre like in the attached recipe. It’s a ‘country French’ pairing to the core; you can bet I’ll be trying it soon!