Not many producers identify themselves with a specific production area as much as the Dugat family has done for about 70 years with the municipality of Gevrey-Chambertin. This small family domaine, in fact, continues to devote itself exclusively to its six hectares of vineyard (3 owned and 3 rented, but with full control over their management) despite the fame of wines creates a market demand far greater than the number of bottles produced.
It all began in 1956, when Maurice Dugat bought a deconsecrated medieval church, built in 1219 on the ruins of an ancient Gallic-Roman ttemple era, which was used as a warehouse to collect the tithing of grapes and/ or cereals always in favor of the local church. For this reason the first name of the winery was Cellier des Dimes, wich means Tithing Cellar. The turning point occurred in the 90s, when Maurice’s son, Claude Dugat, began to put his name on the label of the bottles produced, managing to become in a very short time one of the reference points for Gevrey-Chambertin wines. In the early 2000s, Claude was joined by his son Bertrand who, after about ten years, collected from his father the witness of the winery and began to manage it, mainly dealing with the techniques of the winery, with the help of the sisters Jeanne and Laetitia, responsible (the latter) for the management of the vineyards.
The characteristics of the wines signed by Bertrand, however, have remained the same as those of his father Claude and are based first of all on a biological and natural work, in the vineyards, which leads to obtaining bunches whose grapes are only half the size of those of the other winemakers ones. To this must be added the choice of not prolonging the ripening on the plant, and of picking the grapes with a high level of acidity that translates into a great freshness of the wines, one of the characteristics of this winery. The different ratio between skins and pulp of the berries means that, in the winery, Bertrand uses a very light approach, completely thinning out the bunches and employing a maturation time that does not exceed 2 weeks, with two very delicate daily fullings, and without pumping over, to limit the extraction. This is how the humble Bourgogne Rouge is born as well, obtained from vineyards located in the municipality of Gevrey-Chambertin, which ferments in cement tanks for only six days and which ages 18 months in wooden barrels not at first pass.
The 2016 vintage shows an intense ruby red color, with an olfactory fan that opens on notes of Ravenna cherry, black cherry grenadine, red currant and Tea Rose, followed by blood orange, black olive, green branch of chinchona and vinyl, with final echoes of roasted coffee and blond tobacco. The palate has an attack in which the zesty freshness is accompanied by a good mineral flavor, with a velvety tannin and white pepper just hinted; all enriched by the return of fresh red fruit and flowers that accompany the sip up to a good length closure.
Rating: 88/100
Want to find out what I can do for you? Click here!
