Gevrey Chambertin 1er cru Les Champeaux 2023 Domaine Denis Mortet

The Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Champeaux 2023 from Domaine Denis Mortet is one of the most singular and precious cuvées of this emblematic Côte de Nuits domaine. The 1er Cru 'Les Champeaux' introduces the quintessence of the Domaine, according to the words of Arnaud Mortet himself, son of Denis, who now leads the family vineyard with the same rigour and sensitivity as his father. A Premier Cru of singular race and depth, from a terroir little publicised but whose most discerning winemakers know the secret nobility of.

The terroir of Les Champeaux

Champeaux was the term used by the Gauls to designate fields. There is a particular atmosphere on this 1er Cru, with its dry stone walls and terraced vineyards with red earth soil. The 1er Cru 'Les Champeaux' sits on the Côte Saint-Jacques, fully east-facing. Somewhat less well-known than the other premiers crus of the appellation, this terroir reveals wines with fine ageing potential and great finesse. This relative discretion is precisely what makes it one of the best value propositions of Domaine Denis Mortet, a terroir that does not yet have the renown of Champonnet or Lavaux-Saint-Jacques, but whose complexity and depth are in no way inferior. The soils, composed of red clay-limestone earth with high iron oxide content on a limestone base, are among the richest in iron oxide in the appellation, a geological characteristic that gives the wines a depth, structure and minerality that explain their exceptional ageing potential. Soil work with horses over the past decade has yielded fine results: a wine even more expressive and longer. The fifty-year-old Pinots are aged for 18 months in barrels renewed at 100% in new oak, a high proportion of new oak that is the historical signature of Domaine Denis Mortet, mastered with a talent and precision that allow the oak to reveal without ever dominating.

Tasting profile

The colour is dark and deep. Tannins line the palate, the finish closes on aromas of fresh berries. Powerful aromas of ripe red fruits are evident. The tannins unfold across the entire palate. The nose is striking in its richness and depth: aromas of black cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant and ripe red fruits open with generosity and precision, accompanied by spicy notes — pepper, liquorice, cinnamon — a floral touch of violet and deep ferruginous minerality that betrays the origin of the terroir's red earths. Ageing in new barrels brings nuances of cedar, vanilla and well-integrated coffee that enrich the bouquet without ever weighing it down. On the palate, this 1er Cru reveals singular race expressed through finesse, concentrated and deep substance carried by powerful tannins of remarkable velvety texture, and fresh, precise acidity that structures the whole and gives it the tension and length necessary for ageing ten to fifteen years. The finish is long, spicy and persistent, with a depth and complexity that confirm this Premier Cru's place in the elite of the appellation.

The domaine

Born in 1991 from the division of Charles Mortet's lands, father of Denis, the eponymous domaine covers all the appellations of the Gevrey-Chambertin commune with a total annual production of 55,000 bottles. The vines are old, the terroir particularly distinctive, yields ruthlessly controlled and berries carefully sorted twice over. Denis Mortet, who died in 2006, had imposed a personal style that revolutionised the image of Gevrey-Chambertin in the 1990s, wines at once powerful and refined, born from a philosophy he called not extraction but 'infusion'. His son Arnaud has evolved the wines through his personal style: they are slightly less concentrated but endowed with more finesse. Severe sorting of grapes, partially destemmed, alcoholic fermentation with exclusively indigenous yeasts, very moderate punch-downs and pump-overs, an increasingly respectful approach to fruit and terroir that places Domaine Denis Mortet among the unmissable major references of the Côte de Nuits.

Food pairing

This Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Champeaux will pair magnificently with beef burgundy slowly simmered, grilled beef rib with black truffle jus, venison fillet with wild berries, rack of lamb with Provençal herbs or roasted pigeon with wild mushrooms. It will also find beautiful harmony with soft-ripened cheeses like Époisses or Soumaintrain. One hour of decanting is advised in its youth. Served between 15 and 17°C, it will gradually reveal all the depth, race and quintessence of a great Gevrey-Chambertin terroir.