Domaine Chevrot et Fils Bourguignons Pivoine 2018

Domaine Chevrot Maranges, Côtes de Beaune, France Maranges is located at the southern-most part of the Côte d’Or. These are “honest, sturdy and rustic” wines according to wine writer, Clive Coates. The Chevrot family has been making wine in Maranges since 1830. Domaine Chevrot as it stands today was established in 1936 by the current winemakers’ grandparents. They purchased vines and a cellar that dates back to 1798. Their son Fernand and his wife Catherine started bottling and selling wines from the domaine in the 1970s. Now Pablo and Vincent, the third generation, are now in charge and have made two innovations: since 2008 the vineyards have been in converted to organic viticulture, and the new winery to be built in 2020. The vines are older, for the most part, with an average age of 30 years. The oldest plots, planted by the grandfather, are up to 75 years-old. They are using organic compost in the vineyards, working with a horse and manuel plow, and a minimum of copper and sulfur treatments as needed to treat odium and mildew. Wines of Chevrot have always been made in a traditional style. The lower end cuvées are destemmed and some whole clusters are kept on the 1er Cru cuvées. Only indigenous yeasts are used for fermentation.. After fermentation, the wines are put into barrels for ageing. Pablo and Vincent assess the amount of new oak applied to each cuvée, meeting the idiosyncrasies of each batch. Like most burgundian vignerons, their goal is to produce wines that express their terroir and express the best qualities of the vintage.

This extraordinary wine is made from a blend of gamay 10% and pinot noir 90% , 50 year old vines, vinified in whole bunches, without sulfur, and hardly any intervention in tanks. We let nature do it, and it is doing well. Almost poisonous bouquet of hodgepodge of flowers and strawberry, spiced with green pepper, violet and liquorice. The palate is suave of ripe fruit, redcurrant tops, alluring freshness. In aromatic return, the Burgundy mineral resurfaces. To be enjoyed in good company, on these roasted quails or a fricassee of wild mushrooms.

The Winefront

Domaine Chevrot et Fils Bourguignons Pivoine 2018 – 88 / 100 Points

“”Organic certified vines, biodynamic practices, younger mind at play in a generational winemaking family based in the southern Cote d’Or village of Maranges. This wine is mostly pinot noir but gamay sneaks its way in (at least to 10% I believe). The label says sulphur added but as I believe, for what it is worth, no sulphur is added, but I may be wrong on that, just something whispered in the wind on that. It’s fruity and fresh feeling. Cranberry and cherry jam scents, similar flavours that are oh so jolly. Feels sweet but tannins ripple with earthy dryness and the finish is more tangy/tart and slightly bitter than expected and therefore good for a reset. It has, upfront, that slick texture of a just sucked lozenge. And the sweetness. It’s a fun wine in its way but the overt fruitiness I reckon undoes me a bit.”

– Mike Bennie>.