History
Consumers and the press alike view Domaine Dugat-Py as one of the vin de gard Pinot Noir producers in the world. The domaine also produces and bottles wine under the label of Bernard Dugat-Py. Gevrey-Chambertin is another of the villages in Burgundy with a truly long history starting with roots in prehistoric times with Gallic communities and leaping forward to the Abbey of Beze founded in 630. It is now the largest commune with over 600 hectares of vines and boasts the greatest number of Grand Crus (9 of 23) and some stunning Premier Crus. Little remains of the buildings of L’Aumônerie, a small abbey at the foot of the Combe de Lavaux in the old part of the village of Gevrey-Chambertin. Amazingly the vaulted cellars, built by Abbot Halinard in the 11th century on orders from the Papacy, are beautiful, solid and the quiet resting place for the wine filled barrels of Domaine Dugat-Py.
Members of the Dugat family have been tending vineyards in the Gevrey-Chambertin appellation from the beginning of the 17th century. Bernard Dugat and his son, Loîc are the 12th and 13th generation in this lineage of vignerons. Bernard’s grandmother, Jeanne Boinot, traces her line back to 1645 in Gevrey-Chambertin; deep roots, very deep roots. The Dugat-Py style harkens to the type of wines made in Burgundy in the 1960’s and before. The wines are very dark in color, concentrated, rich, full bodied and elegant. In their youth the wines are tight and only begin to show their evolution after 6-8 years in the bottle. These are wines built for the long haul. As much as possible Bernard leaves the wine alone to make itself, uses only naturally occurring yeast and includes the use of stems during fermentation to soften the tannins.
Sometimes, the magic of great Burgundy transcends description or explanation. A visit to the hauntingly atmospheric, spiritually-charged medieval crypt where the Dugat-Py wines age provokes just such a reaction. Description-wise, these are simply sublime, the sort of wines that leave the taster lost for words. Explanation-wise, there appears to be no rocket science, just the alchemy of great sites, seriously old vines, and hard-working, perfectionist vignerons. Burgundy rarely gets better than this.