Vinous - Antonio Galloni (93+)

The 2017 Tour Saint Christophe is a dense, richly constituted wine loaded with tremendous energy and pure power. It is also a bit shut down; so I would prefer to give it a few years in bottle to be at its best. Black fruit, chocolate, leather, licorice and spice build into the potent, virile finish. This is a wine with tremendous promise.

James Suckling (96-97)

Blueberry and blackberry character with hints of white pepper and chalk. Salty, too. Full-bodied, tight and polished with fantastic texture and length. Very closed and tight with gorgeous tannin quality.

James Suckling (96-97)

This is tight with finesse and focus. Minerally and salty with an ultra-fine palate and polished tannins. It goes on and on and on. Strength and finesse at the same time. 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc.

James Suckling (96-97)

This is tight with finesse and focus. Minerally and salty with an ultra-fine palate and polished tannins. It goes on and on and on. Strength and finesse at the same time. 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc.

The Wine Cellar Insider (95-97)

Deep, and dark in color, and equally dark and deep in its fruit, the nose pops with perfectly ripe dark red and black fruits, licorice, smoke, cherry blossoms, crushed rocks and stones. The wine has depth, sensuality, luscious textures and layers of ripe,opulent fruits. The finish lingers with layers of black and red fruits with dark chocolate that feel as good as they taste. This could be the finest vintage of Tour Sant Christophe ever produced, and that is really saying something. The wine is made from blending 80% Merlot with 20% Cabernet Franc. You can age for 20-25 years. Or if you like,you can also enjoy this on the young side.

James Suckling (92-93)

This is already nicely salty and chalky with crushed stones. Medium-to full-bodied with medium, firm tannins and a medium, juicy finish.

Jeb Dunnuck (96)

Spice-laden red and black fruits, leafy tobacco, savory flowers, and new leather notes all shine in the 2022 Château Tour Saint Christophe, another brilliant wine from this team. I love its complexity, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with fine tannins, a layered, elegant mouthfeel, beautifully integrated oak, and a great finish. Based on 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc brought up in 25% new French oak, give bottles 3-5 years if you can and enjoy over the following 15+.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (96)

I have not been looking at a lot of 2015s recently, so it is really interesting in how this has opened up substantially on the nose, with already some secondary characteristics in the bouquet, albeit with a more youthful fruit on the palate. Then come the tannins, followed by a slightly more evolved finish with mulberries in the mix.

Burghound (97)

Interestingly this is aromatically quite similar to the nose of the Latricières though there is just a bit more wood in evidence plus a hint of menthol. By contrast there is more size, weight, power and muscle to the big-bodied and equally mineral-driven flavors that also brim with copious amounts of dry extract that coats the palate and buffers the very firm but not hard tannic backbone on the driving, hugely long and youthfully austere finale. This is an exquisitely poised Chambertin that is very much built-to-age and is going to need a minimum of 10 years and once again, is a wine that should last for decades. In a word, brilliant.

The wines of Domaine Trapet are the epitome of Burgundian elegance, purity, and finesse. Vinification techniques depend on the vintage but generally consist of a brief period of cold maceration, followed by fermentation in open top wood fermenters with partial inclusion of stems (30 to 50%). Maceration is long and slow, with delicate extraction via punch-down and then gentle pump-overs in the later stages. Sulphur is added only at bottling, in minute doses.

 

The three magnificent Grand Crus Domaine Trapet owns in Gevrey-Chambertin are in top echelons and again in 2016, Le Chambertin under Jean-Louis’ care, has received outstanding reviews. The Trapet Pere & Fils Chambertin Grand Cru 2016 is awarded a 95-97 pts from Neal Martin (Wine Advocate) and 93-96 pts from Allen Meadows (Burghound).

Tim Atkin MW (96)

Not currently available.

Vinous (90-92)

(the yield here was just 15 hectoliters per hectare, according to Jean-Louis Trapet): Good bright medium red. Deeper on the nose than the preceding village wines, offering aromas of plum, currant, roast coffee and cocoa. Graceful, fine-grained wine, offering very good depth, intriguing saline minerality and noteworthy precision. More floral than herbal. The persistent finish features a subtle sweetness and suave tannins that saturate the sides of the tongue. This will be Trapet's only premier cru bottling from the 2016 vintage.

Vinous (92-94)

The 2020 Gevrey-Chambertin La Petite Chapelle 1er Cru, blended with 80% whole bunch, has a tightly-wound bouquet with crushed stone infusing the blackcurrant and raspberry scents, a nuanced Earl Grey scent percolating through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, finely-chiselled tannins, very good weight with just a hint of menthol that enhances the finish.

Vinous (96-98)

The 2019 Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru, which contains around 60% whole bunch, has a well-defined bouquet of ebullient dark berry fruit laced with light woodland and earthy scents. So much vigor and coiled-up energy! The palate is medium-bodied with wonderful balance, supple tannins, perfectly judged acidity and a crescendo of flavors toward the splendid, mineral-driven finish. The cooler microclimate really benefited this cuvée in 2019, and it is one of the Trapet’s finest contributions to the vintage.

Vinous (92-94)

The 2018 Gevrey-Chambertin "Ostrea" comprises around 70% whole cluster this year and comes from parcels around the village of Brochon. This has an elegant bouquet of gorgeous wild strawberry and raspberry preserve aromas, the oak seamlessly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and well-judged acidity, and so juicy that it is nigh impossible to detect the stem addition. This might well constitute the best "Ostrea" I have tasted from Trapet.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (92-94)

(5-Star wine) Still in barrel, unracked. Rich deep purple with a heady ripe raspberry fruit. But it is fresh, clean, mineral and intense on the palate with a lovely supple fruit backed by clean energy. Darker fruit, but significantly more weight. In fact, this is astonishingly concentrated at the back of the palate. There are plenty of tannins here, but easily enough fruit.

Vinous (92)

The 2020 Gevrey-Chambertin Ostrea comes from vines that have now been rewired higher according to Jean-Louis Trapet. It has a more mineral-driven, reserved bouquet compared to the Gevrey-Village, fragrant and beautifully defined, the 40% whole bunch lending freshness. The palate is fresh and vibrant with gentle grip, good weight, taut and fresh with a saline, Morey-like finish. Classy, for Burgundy-lovers who like their Pinot a bit cerebral.

Colour:  Amber colour, almost mahogany

Nose:  Very complex, combining wooden, vanilla, old Porto, dry fruits, nuts to floral notes (dry rose), but also spicy (clove and pepper), cigar wooden box

Palate:  Light and elegant structure, rich and wooden notes. It is perfectly well-balanced and the length is exceptional The Lafite Cognac, given its rarity and long ageing, shows a complexity, suppleness and exceptional aromatic persistence which make it ideal to enjoy as a digestive at the end of a meal.

Vinous (96)

I am utterly blown away by the 2010 Alpilles Rouge, a re-release from the winery’s cellar. Still so fresh and vibrant, the 2010 is just stunning in its beauty today. Time in bottle has brought with it lovely complexity, especially in the aromatics. On the palate, though, the 2010 is so young. Swaths of tannin and bright acids suggest the 2010 still needs time to be at its best. As for the wine’s pedigree and quality, those are unmistakably world-class. Readers who can find the 2010 should not hesitate. It’s one of the rare values in fine, ageworthy red wine. This bottle was released from the domaine in 2020.

As an eminent expression of Provençal wine, Trevallon Alpilles Rouge 2016 is born of balance and subtlety. This masterpiece hails from the sought-after appellation of Les Alpilles at the iconic Domaine de Trevallon. A jewel amongst French viticulture, the domaine meticulously employs organic practices and low yields, resulting in exceptional quality.

Trevallon Alpilles Rouge 2016 is an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, each conveying their unique personality whilst harmonising beautifully. The wine evolves over 24 months in oak, culminating in an intense, robust character with an elegant finish. Its palate reveals a melange of black fruits, herbal notes and a whispering spice.

Produced by Eloi Dürrbach in the heart of Provence, Trevallon Alpilles Rouge 2016 reflects the rich, diverse terroir of its birthplace. Dürrbach's commitment to minimal intervention, both in the vineyard and the cellar, honours the natural essence of the wine, offering a true taste of Provence's finesse. A true connoisseur's delight, Trevallon Alpilles Rouge 2016 personifies articulate winemaking.

Vinous - Neal Martin (91)

The NV Trilogie was a fantastic wine, a blend of three vintages of declassified fruit from Le Pin. There are two or three different blends, this one comprising 2013, 2014 and 2015. Again, served blind, I stupidly guessed Saint-Émilion! I know that Jacques Thienpont and Fiona Morrison dislike the speculation that shrouds Trilogie due to its connection. Affordability was their original intention, but you cannot fight market forces and the truth is that this is a delicious, surprisingly complex multi-vintage blend. As one of the only people that ever tasted the declassified 2013 Le Pin, serving as a guinea pig for Jacques on one visit, I can vouchsafe that he made far better use of the fruit that year.

Vinous (97+)

Bright golden-tinged straw-yellow. Enticing nose of yellow apple, mirabelle, crystallized ginger and white flowers, complicated by lemony minerality. Dense, fresh and juicy, displaying outstanding sugar-acid balance and an opulent mouthfeel that is nicely lifted by penetrating notes of mirabelle, lime, wet stones, lemon peel and almond. While this enters sweet, it finishes very clean and dry. Boasts one of the most fragrant, prettiest and most forward noses I recall in a young CSH.

Vinous (98+)

Luminous straw. Penetrating nuances of lime and guava join the lemon verbena, jasmine, mineral and white stone fruit aromas on the knockout, captivating nose. Then dense, complex and multilayered, offering profound flavors of fresh citrus fruit, sweet spices and talcum powder. Closes extremely long, clean and precise; this is a young white wine of utterly mesmerizing beauty. I find this to be one of the best young CSHs I have ever tasted; it is stylistically different but almost on the same quality level as the marvelous 2010 CSH. One sniff (never mind taste) and I was left almost speechless - and I’m not usually one who keeps his mouth shut when I recognize a truly great wine.

Wine Advocate (93+)

A blend of 55% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Tronquoy-Lalande races out of the glass with bright, exuberant scents of Morello cherries, mulberries, warm plums and fresh blackcurrants plus touches of allspice, candied violets and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, the palate is laden with expressive black and red fruits plus loads of floral accents and a wonderfully plush texture, finishing long and fragrant.

The Wine Independent (94)

The 2019 Tronquoy-Lalande is made from 50% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it slowly unfurls to offers fragrant notes of rose oil, Indian spices, and licorice over a core of creme de cassis and stewed plums, plus a hint of lavender. The full-bodied palate is firm and sturdy, with grainy tannins and plenty of freshness to match the muscular fruit, finishing long and earthy.