Jerome Chezeaux
One of the keys to being a savvy Burgundy buyer is knowing a little bit about the various terroirs and their locations. Today, I showcase two premier crus from Vosne Romanee 1) les Suchots, sandwiched between Romanee St Vivant, Richebourg and Echezeaux 2) les Chaumes which is a vineyard that sits directly below La Tache and Malconsorts. Both are located in the heart of the high rent district. Map geeks…there’s a great one in our STORY below!
When we taste Vosne Romanee it's hard not to talk about the “Vosne Spice.” Once you have experienced its flavor, you continue to seek it out; red fruit, cherry, raspberry, rose petal perfume, it is my definition of understated elegance that wafts from the glass. Vosne Romanee never hits you over your head with dark brooding flavors. The wines are so pretty and seductive that it's hard to drink them as you just want to keep sticking your nose back in the glass to discover just another nuance to reveal itself.
For a little writing inspiration to address you today, I opened the 2021 Jerome Chezeaux Les Suchots. Wow what a wine! The first glass I poured revealed a red cherry nose with a penetrating core of fruit. As it has sat here and opened up, it reveals that beautiful “Vosne Spice” and absolute beautiful texture and elegance to the mouth feel on a rather lingering finish. I dare you to open a bottle and put it aside…it’s too good. It’s a class act wine!
Jerome Chezeaux is a domaine I’ve been buying since discovering it in 2015. Across the board, the entire lineup does not disappoint, however, it's the Suchots, Chaumes and Vaucrains that really take it to another level. These wines have not been reviewed by the press in years. It’s stupid, I don’t know why. Upside: The prices have not gotten away from us - a comparable quality from these same vineyards could easily be well north of $300.
I’m always searching out and making recommendations on wines which hit well above their pay grade, and these wines from Jerome Chezeaux deliver. Do yourself a favor and pick some of these up. You will be glad you did! You can thank me later.
This vaunted 1er cru sits on a vein of limestone and marl in southern Vosne- Romanée. Chezeaux produces a wine that marries the exotic spice and succulent fruit of Vosne-Romanée with the mineral power of Nuits-Saint-Georges in hugely appealing fashion. This wine is consistently one of my favorites from the domaine. Chezeaux owns about four-tenths of a hectare in Chaumes, superbly situated just beneath La Tache and Aux Malconsorts. We have the rare privilege to access a tiny allocation of this wine annually. This “Les Chaumes” is wonderfully cool and introspective. With time in the glass, plums, black cherries, mint, violets and spices emerge, adding a wonderful sense of texture and depth. Elements of firmness underpin the fruit, suggesting the wine has a very bright future. Sweet red flowers, mint and spices add complexity on the finish. We were awestruck by its energy and tension.
Perhaps the greatest wine from this estate, “Les Suchots” sits on deep and heavy clay at 270 meters altitude. A veritable tsunami of swoon-worthy Vosne spice ushers in fruit both impressively broad and sumptuously precise, yet somehow everything remains focused and fine—a tour de force, vintage after vintage. Chezeaux owns a bit more than one-third of a hectare in this elite lieu-dit which sits opposite legendary Richebourg and Romanée Saint Vivant. Sweet dark berries, spices, flowers and mint are some of the notes that are woven into a finessed fabric of notable elegance. The “Suchots” is one of the most refined and sensual wines in the Chezeaux lineup and this 2020 version is a jaw-dropping knockout!
Although Nuits-Saint-Georges famously possesses no grand cru vineyards, “Les Vaucrains” is widely considered one in all but name. Always the most complete of Chezeaux’s premier crus, Vaucrains rumbles with tension—an authoritative wine that exudes an impression of depth and solidity. Here, the fruit, mineral, and savory elements bind together more tightly, more seamlessly. The Chezeaux domaine owns a bit more than a quarter-hectare in this elite site which is composed of a formidable mix of heavy clay and limestone. The vines rest on a 15 degree-angled site with an east-northeast exposure. You can expect exceptional results from this vineyard as these 30-year-old vines continue to mature. This Chezeaux “Les Vaucrains” is wonderfully complete. It is a big wine, yet all of the elements are beautifully integrated to a great extent. The tannins are firm yet retain a certain level of elegance and finesse. The wines are deep, powerful and flat out great. Tar, smoke and incense are some of the notes that develop as the wine works its way to the huge, building finish. A stunning Vaucrains!
STORY
Jérôme Chezeaux is a hidden gem of an estate known particularly for its acclaimed wines from the Côte de Nuits areas Nuits-Saint-Georges and Vosne-Romanée. This family winery’s holdings cover close to 12 hectares across 16 appellations, packing in an impressive range of the region’s most prestigious grand and premier cru vineyards. These include Clos De Vougeot, Les Suchots, and Les Chaumes. The domaine also produces a range of quality village wines and Bourgogne.
The Chezeaux house dates to the 1930s with Bernard Chezeaux taking over its ownership in 1971. During his time at the helm, the domaine sold most of its wines to negociants, a practice that changed when Jérôme Chezeaux took over in the late 1990s. Jérôme has built on his father’s legacy, meticulously teasing out exceptional expressions of wine from the estate’s vines and increasing domaine-bottling so that, today, all of the producer’s wines are bottled in the estate. Marriage to Pierrette from a fellow winemaking family expanded the producer’s holdings and in 2016 daughter Lyse joined her parents following formal wine studies and a stint working in the vineyards of New Zealand and the US.
The domaine farms on the principle that “a good wine can only be made with good grapes". As such, the family implements a “lutte raisonnée” approach in the vineyard and a minimalistic philosophy in the winery to produce the domaine’s outstanding Burgundy.
There are no chemical treatments, plowing promotes vine health, and yields are strictly controlled. At harvest time, fruit is hand-picked with berries sorted on arrival at the winery and clusters 100% de-stemmed for control of tannic content and fruit purity. The grapes undergo a cold maceration of 3 to 4 days and then the entire cuvaison extends for approximately three weeks. During that time remontage and pigeage (pumping over/ punching down) are practiced. The extent to which both techniques are used depends on the structure of the vintage.
The later fermentation processes and maturation takes place in barrels. Each year between a quarter and one-third of the barrels are replaced, which means the wines see 30% new wood, at most. Maturation extends over 18 to 24 months. Indigenous yeasts are used exclusively and malolactic fermentation occurs in-barrel.
The wines of Domaine Jérôme Chezeaux are highly esteemed for their elegance, finesse, remarkable purity and reflection of their respective terroirs. And of course, don’t forget the excellent aging potential.
