Domaine Claude Dugat Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2008 (AM:92) / 2010 (AM:94)

Claude Dugat is a Burgundy producer in the esteemed Gevrey-Chambertin appelation of the Côte de Nuits. He makes a small number of wines exclusively from Pinot Noir, with the most sought-after wines coming from designated grand cru sites. The domaine was founded in 1955 by Claude's father Maurice when he purchased the Grange de Dimes – a 13th Century structure that had been used to store agricultural tithes for the church. Maurice converted it to a winery and cellar and renamed it the Cellier des Dimes.
The domaine is fairly small, owning about half of its holdings and leasing the rest. Dugat bottles three grand cru reds from Griotte-Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin and Charmes-Chambertin, two premier cru wines, a Gevrey-Chambertin Villages and a Bourgogne Rouge. The grapes are completely destemmed and fermentation begins relatively quickly. The cap is punched down twice a day with very little to no pumping over taking place. The Bourgogne Rouge is aged entirely in one-year-old oak barrels and the villages is aged in a mix of new and one-year-old casks. All the premier and grand cru see entirely new oak.

Appellation:
AOC Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, Bourgogne

Country of Origin:
Burgundy, France

Type:
Red/Rouge (Still)

Grape Variety:
100% Pinot Noir

Tasting Notes:
(2008) The cool and restrained nose displays just a enough reduction to push the otherwise pretty and layered aromas of various dark berries, earth and wood nuances to the background. Otherwise there is good richness and punch to the attractively precise and focused big-bodied flavors that are powerful and possess excellent volume, all wrapped in a wonderfully complex finish where bright acidity imparts a certain youthful austerity. This is still on the way up, in fact so much so that I would advise letting this slumber in the back of the cellar for close to another decade. Patience definitely required.

(2010) This is also reduced though not nearly so strongly. There is good verve to the extract rich medium-bodied flavors that coat the palate on the significantly more structured, deeper and longer finish. The supporting tannins are really quite fine and while there is plenty of volume and solid power, this is perhaps a bit more sophisticated than it usually is. As with the Lavaut, readers should note that my score assumes that the reduction here is not permanent.