The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.
Wine Description
The Story
A shallow sea withdrew over 100 million years ago leaving a peneplain consisting of a horizontal pile of marine sediment deposited in the Jurassic period. After the erection of the Alpes, several faults were produced, one between Lyon and Dijon gave birth to the Côtes de Nuits and Beaune. The formation of the Côte, with its eastern exposure, brought the Jurassic era's geology up to date.
The Combe de Lavaux would eventually form an impressive alluvial cone extending from the vineyard to the plain. On one side of this valley the Côte des Grands Crus may be found, extending almost all the way to Morey, with its nine esteemed wines. The soil is a brown calcareous soil.
Chambertin is the greatest of these 9 Grands Crus. The vineyard is situated on a subsoil of marl, covered by a thin surface of scree and the finest silt. Brown chalky soil developed over these deposits. Our parcel, located at the highest part of the vineyard, is much whiter and very marly. This type of soil slows down the vegetative cycle and imparts this gem of a wine with an exquisite and rare balance.
Vintage 2004
2004 VINTAGE in Burgundy
2004 will be remembered as the year of wonderful surprises. The month of September was hot, dry and sunny contributing to an excellent harvest which in turn gave birth to fruity, elegant wines.
The harvest started on the 13th September in Burgundy, the Mâconnais and the Côte Chalonnaise during a long awaited spell of mild weather following a summer characterised by climatic instability.
These conditions slowed down the colouring of the grapes, disturbed the start of ripening and provided ideal conditions for the development of oidium. Luckily the return of a long period of warmth and sun from the beginning of September onwards accelerated the ripening process with a sharp increase in sugars.
This summery weather accompanied by a warm drying wind also allowed for the vines to maintain a satisfactory sanitary state. The hailstorms unfortunately destroyed a number of important parcels in the Mâconnais and in the vineyards of the Côte d?Or at different stages of their vegetative cycle. Contrary to 2003, nature showed herself to be kind and the wine-growers had to go ahead with intensive green harvesting to control the yields, taking off the damaged grapes or leaf-thinning.
In mid-september estimations put the forthcoming harvest at about 10% above that of an average harvest.
Although the particularly successful 2002 and 2003 vintages are tasting beautifully at the moment, it is still to early to define the profile for the 2004 vintage.
We will have to wait until after various tastings in November in Beaune, Chablis and in the Auxerrois region before getting a preliminary idea of the qualities of the 2004 harvest.