As we’ve recounted repeatedly in recent offers, the SommSelect team enjoyed an epic tour of France back in March. We got to walk the vineyards and taste wines with elite producers from the Loire down to the southern Rhône and beyond, and as the wines we tasted arrive here, it’s a thrill all over again.
This is especially true of today’s wine, one of several Grand Crus from Cyprien Arlaud that just knocked our socks off. The entire Arlaud lineup shows incredible precision and polish: These are wines with exceptionally clean lines, from the Bourgogne Rouge “Oka” (offered here previously) all the way up to an extremely sexy lineup of Grand Crus. Today’s 2016 from Charmes-Chambertin was a hotly anticipated arrival around here, and as always, I’ll be a little sad when the few boxes we got turn around and go back out the door. A wine’s impact isn’t necessarily determined by its weight, as Cyprien has so eloquently demonstrated here: This wine is profound and powerful but also silky and buoyant, the ultimate expression of depth without weight. It feels like it will age indefinitely, and, given its elite provenance, I would expect it to cost much more than it does. As is often the case with wines like this, we do not have a lot, but this is a no-brainer for serious collectors. We can offer up to six bottles per customer today, and if ever there were a time to hit the limit, this is it!
Charmes-Chambertin produces perhaps the most elegant wines of Gevrey-Chambertin’s Grand Cru vineyards, and Domaine Arlaud’s sliver of it is particularly choice: it sits at the highest section of the ‘Mazoyères’ portion of Charmes, just across the road from the start of the Latricières portion (more specifically still, Domaine Leroy’s piece of Latricières, from which they make a wine costing $1,500-$2,000 a bottle, if you can find it). The Arlaud vines on Charmes-Chambertin are divided into three parts—one section of 80+-year-old vines; one of 50+-year-old vines; and one of 25+-year-old vines—which are vinified separately. The wine is aged in only 30% new barrels and typically incorporates around 30% whole grape clusters in the fermentation, depending on the vintage.
Domaine Arlaud began with the WWII-era marriage of Joseph Arlaud to Renée Amiot, whose family owned several prime Burgundy vineyards, including pieces of the Clos St. Denis and Bonnes Mares Grand Crus. Joseph’s son Hervé followed, expanding the domaine’s holdings further, then in 1997 it was Hervé’s son Cyprien’s turn to run the show. Perhaps the hallmark achievement of Cyprien’s tenure has been his conversion of the domaine to biodynamic farming (certified in 2014). His cherished vineyards are ploughed by horse, and as one of Arlaud’s importers has noted, Cyprien’s sister, Bertille, has become “one of the most important horse-ploughers in France.” How’s that for a credential?!
Cyprien’s approach in the cellar is described as “non-interventionist.” His cold cave, located in the village of Morey-St-Denis, enables him to minimize his use of sulfur, and his wines undergo very long, slow fermentations started only with native yeasts. As noted above, the common thread across the Arlaud range is a high-toned refinement, even among the wines hailing from Gevrey-Charmbertin, which is traditionally known for woodsier, more broad-shouldered Burgundies. Tasting this 2016, I’m reminded of the perfume of great Morey-St-Denis or Chambolle-Musigny, while on the palate I’m brought back to the firm structure and darker fruit of its home village of Gevrey. In the glass, it’s a brilliant ruby-red with violet reflections, with highly perfumed aromas of wild strawberries; black raspberries; rose petals; white pepper; and that ‘sous bois’ forest-floor/undergrowth note that outs it as top-flight red Burgundy. It starts out with glycerol-rich, perfumed, sweet red fruit, utterly delicious and charming, then firms up with some silty Gevrey tannin and crushed-stone minerality. Medium-plus in body and boasting a long, penetratingly aromatic finish, this is quite drinkable in its youth. Even after just a half-hour open I was amazed by its silken generosity, and I can only imagine how mind-blowing it’ll be 5-7 years from now. It’s a mix of pretty and powerful that doesn’t come along often, and if you decide to try one now I’d suggest decanting it about an hour before serving in Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees. And, as we noted when we offered the 2014 vintage, this is a wine that demands a little extra effort in the kitchen—something fancy to pay proper homage to such a sleek and stylish Grand Cru. Enjoy!
