Domaine Tortochot Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru "Champeaux" 2016

A seemingly good price for a 1er Cru Gevrey Chambertin with at least a bit of age to it already - but is the difficult vintage (2016) the fly in the ointment?
Bought from El Vino Blackfriars: www.davy.co.uk...
In case you're interest in (not wine related) additional footage of tarp setup and the rain, then see here: • Additional Rainy Tarp ...

[@BurgundyWithTweedy]

Just in case you'd like to see some additional tarp / rainy day footage I put all the "off cuts" from this video which weren't really wine related here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJScp4pjmMhkadk

[@davidberlanny3308]

Hi John, well done for braving the rain. I'm sure it must have had an effect on the nose. Polished hardwood, makes me think of those traditional hardware shops that we used to have (4 candles fork handles). Rusticity: "a simple quality, often rough in appearance, that is typical of the countryside: the charming rusticity of the countryside" Well that's a new word for me too!! It doesn't sound like this wine though Do recommend trying loganberries, you should be able to do find them, I vaguely recall a tinned variety, but we were spoilt, my parents have a very productive vine which is how I know it so well. A quote from the internet "Loganberries are much bigger than those of their parent plants, with a gloriously deep red-wine colouring" ..... Our Loganberry harvest would often end up in a summer pudding, I mention it just in case you bump into Tweedy Outdoors and he pesters you for recipe ideas, imagine that .... a man in a Tweed suit eating summer pudding in a ditch under a blackberry bush .... in the rain!! All the best!!

[@richardcollins586]

That was my pick of the tasting in January at the Davey’s evening at the Haberdasher hall. I ordered a case and it arrived about June. Ageing gracefully in my Eurocave ☺️.

[@Micktyb]

Very smart new whistle and flute👌😁don’t get it dirty 😅or spill wine 🍷 on it 😅thanks 👏

[@robertdekoninck5894]

If I may add some nerdy detail, les Champeaux is part of the côte Saint-Jacques, indeed a higher-altitude hillside set of vineyards that includes les Veroilles, les Cazetiers, and obviously all the Saint-Jacques vineyards. In my experience, these wines are for long aging, especially so in the difficult but high quality 2016 vintage. These wines express the higher altitude, so less ripe and rich then other Gevrey wines. They are more mineral, elegant and floral then other Gevreys as well. I'm not surprised the wine changed a lot after some airing. If you can find les Veroilles, it is one of the most elegant wines in the appelation. Also, thanks for the amazing work. I always look forward to your new videos. Cheers!

[@BurgundyWithTweedy]

Very useful detail - thank you! That makes a lot of sense with what I was experiencing with this wine.

[@tonirichards-thompson7541]

Nice to see you inaugurated the suit in the rain!

[@stevenholt4936]

You suffer for your art! According to my vintage chart 2016 red Burgundy is a 9/10 year. I bought half a case of Teurons 1er Cru en primeur, which I will leave in the merchant's cellars for another year or so. I like my Burgundy a bit more mature than you, I think. I am currently drinking the fabulous 2015s. Unfortunately Burgundy prices are now so ridiculous that I am looking more to NZ and Germany for my pinot noir fix. Always enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.

[@BurgundyWithTweedy]

I think those vintage ratings probably need to be taken with a pinch of salt! According to this vintage chart nothing has scored below 90 (presumably out of a possible 100) since 2004: www.winespectator.com/vintage-charts/region/burgundy-cotes-de-nuits-reds ...although it is interesting that 2016 is given a score of 97, beaten only by 2015 and 2005 (both scoring 98) in this century so far. Part of my slight scepticism about 2016 is that I feel I see more of it still available, despite the apparently low yields. For some wines I've seen the 2017 and 2018 vintages sold out before the 2016s did... and it is often priced quite favourably compared to later vintages of the same wine. There seems to be an oft quoted mantra from those in the wine industry that a given vintage has "low yields but outstanding quality" or some such. I can't help but think what happens in practice is that at least some of the producers aren't quite so selective at the sorting table as they might be in a year when the vines provide an embarrassment of riches.

[@stevenholt4936]

@@BurgundyWithTweedy You make some good points. I often wonder the role that groupthink plays with merchants and critics: nobody wants to be the sore thumb. Is the, 'Nobody got fired for buying IBM,' syndrome at play? I remember when 1975 was hailed as the Bordeaux 'Wine of the century.' The tannins never softened and the fruit faded leaving a rather disgusting flavour of stewed cold builder's tea. Fortunately I had no money when it came on the market and, therefore, wasn't tempted. I did try a bottle years later and it was vile. I now confine myself to buying my fine wine, usually en primeur, from The Wine Society, simply because I find their buying team more reliable (or at least they buy wine more to my taste). Having said that I have stopped buying reds en primeur (I am 69, so little point in buying stuff that will be at its best in 20 years). I now have enough either in my own or The Wine Society's cellar to see me out. From now on I will just buy the odd bottle of something special: vintage Champagne, say, or even (as per one of your earlier videos) a Grand Cru Burgundy.

[@BurgundyWithTweedy]

@@stevenholt4936 It certainly is a very cliquey industry! I haven't had a great experience with en primeur so far, but I suppose we're only a few months away from that season now and perhaps I ought to give it another go. One year I was really determined to buy some Fourrier Gevrey Chambertin via that route, and found several wine merchants who theoretically would have some, but it seemed any prospective buyers had to win a sort of popularity contest to earn the privilege of being allowed to buy any of it from them. "We reserve it for clients who support us with the rest of our wine list." - i.e. you could only buy a case if you also bought some unspecified number of cases of other wines you might not actually want. It reminded me of estate agents and their "sealed bids" tactics. The other time I dabbled with en primeur I bought a few cases of Gevrey Chambertin from a couple of less prestigious producers through Berry Bros, thinking I might drink some of it and ultimately sell on some of the others. Several years later they had stubbornly refused to increase in value and meanwhile I was paying BBR cellarage fees. By the time I eventually decided to cut my losses and have them delivered I had effectively paid more for those wines than I would have if I'd just bought them at the regular market price by that point in time, and those vintages were still readily available then.

[@stevenholt4936]

@@BurgundyWithTweedy That is another reason I use TWS - there is no funny business like having to buy stuff you don't want just to get in the race. It is a straightforward ballot: usually there is enough to get at least some of one's bid. I have never bought wine for investment, so I don't keep a check on whether I could have bought it cheaper on the main market. I look at what wines I want and secure them early so I don't miss out when they appear on general release. There are probably swings and roundabouts. I have about a third of my collection in a chiller cabinet at home and the rest in TWS cellars. Part of the reason is that I was once burgled (not in this house) and lost some valuable and irreplaceable bottles, so I have spread the risk as much as I can. I might buy some more storage in due course to reduce my annual bill - it would probably make financial sense.

[@TheHashCam]

Love your wine vids! Came to France on holiday and bought my first 2 bottles of Gevrey-Chambertin. Tried the first today, Joseph Drouhin 2017 and I’m converted! So smooth and delicious. Also, what the hell does structure mean in the reviews?!

[@BurgundyWithTweedy]

Thank you! I only have a dim understanding of what people are trying to say when they talk about structure in reviews! I think what it's trying to address is the fact a wine is made up of all these building blocks of flavour and mouthfeel (acidity, sweetness, booziness, body, tannin, etc), and the "structure" refers to how well they are combined together to make the finished product. I suppose if one of those building blocks is lacking or if it overwhelms all the others you might call it poorly structured. If you can appreciate all of those components individually and they're in the right proportions it would be structured well. In a way it seems like this duplicates the concept of balance to me, but then I suppose when I talk about balance I'm usually just thinking about sweetness vs acidity, and perhaps "structure" is meant to be multi dimensional...?

[@mancroft]

Lovely suit. Would not want your cleaning bills.

[@Micktyb]

Very smart new whistle and flute👌😁don’t get it dirty 😅or spill wine 🍷 on it 😅thanks 👏