Regis Bouvier Gevrey-Chambertin, Cote de Nuits, France 2020

VINTAGE : 2020

COUNTRY : France

REGION/APPELLATION: Burgundy, Gevrey-Chambertin

VARIETALS: Pinot Noir

Régis Bouvier in Marsannay achieves a rare hat trick in Burgundy, the mastering of all three colors–red, white and rosé, through reasonable yields and high quality terroirs. Bouvier makes the best Burgundian rosé that we have ever tasted, his whites are delicious, with their own particular character completely unlike other Chardonnays from Burgundy, and his reds are his crowning achievement, managing to be wild and exciting while refined and elegant at the same time. 

Bouvier’s vineyards in Marsannay are premier-cru quality (some may even get classified) and his lieu-dit Bourgogne Rouge En Montre Cul vineyard is of a quality well above most (cultivated on a steep slope, not flatland Bourgogne). And don’t miss his Morey-St-Denis En la Rue de Vergy, a superb vineyard right above the Grand Cru Clos de Tart. This domaine represents terrific value for a number of reasons–a lesser-known appellation combined with quality vineyard holdings and a conscientious and talented wine grower.  

Artifacts and ancient burial sites found around the village of Gevrey-Chambertin suggest that the Romans were the first to plant vines on these now-famous slopes. Perhaps their martial spirits linger, imbuing Gevrey’s wines with the depth and backbone for which they are renowned. Régis blends several plots to produce his Gevrey-Chambertin, and there’s a beautiful woodsiness on the nose, almost autumnal. It’s not an oak barrel aroma, but a forest aroma. The fruit quality is darker and more earthbound, too, like eating blackberries in the shade.