Domaine Jérôme Galeyrand, La Justice, Gevrey-Chambertin
In the most Northern part of the appellation, grown on limestone and sandy soils, this wine is the perfect introduction to Jérôme’s style. 100% de-stemmed and just 20% new oak barrels, this shows great purity and good plush fruit.
As you head north-east towards Gevrey-Chambertin, in the small village of Saint Philibert, you will find a small hamlet of what can best be described as industrial sheds. It is in the very last of these that Jérôme has built his new cellars and winemaking facilities. Production is minuscule and very hands-on and Jérôme is aiming to produce wines that speak of their place. Read more...
Dried flowers, mint and spice, a slightly rubbery smell, ripe cherry and strawberry. Medium bodied, quite soft and almost squishy strawberry flavour, gentle tannin, spice and a touch of dried herb, a slip of earthiness on a fleshy and round finish. Suspect the pleasure here will be more as a young wine. 91 points, Wine Front 12/2017).
The 2015 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice has a clean and fresh bouquet with bright red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit, very perfumed with fine purity. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly tarry red berry fruit, a healthy dash of white pepper with a crisp, well-balanced finish that gently fans out. It will need a couple of years to just take the edge off those tannins, but it represents a decent wine from this village cru. 87-89 points, The Wine Advocate (12/2016).
"The 2015 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice has a clean and fresh bouquet with bright red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit, very perfumed with fine purity. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly tarry red berry fruit, a healthy dash of white pepper with a crisp, well-balanced finish that gently fans out. It will need a couple of years to just take the edge off those tannins, but it represents a decent wine from this village cru." (87 - 89) points, Neal Martin (December 2016)
"The 2015 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice is an attractive, mid-weight wine. Dried flowers, herbs, mint and dried cherry open up nicely, while beams of supporting tannin give the wine its shape and overall sense of energy. The 2015 is perhaps a touch light and ethereal, but it is nevertheless very nicely done." (87 - 89) points, Antonio Galloni (June 2017)
“For fifteen years the Emperor [Napoleon] constantly drank the same wine [Gevrey-Chambertin] , which he liked and which we believed was good for him."
Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène by The Count of Las Cases
Gevrey-Chambertin is the largest wine-producing village in the entire Côte d’Or with the wines typically deeper in colour, with more tannin structure and firmer in body than most red Burgundy. Thanks to the iron-rich clay soils the very best can develop into the richest, biggest and long-lived Pinot Noir - this of course depends on whether the vineyard is located on the steeper slopes or the flatter, richer soils.
Gevrey boasts an impressive nine Grands Crus, with the name of Chambertin retaining a regal omnipresence throughout its finest vineyard names. Chambertin-Clos de Bèze which has the right to sell its wines simply as ‘Chambertin’, and is also the only wine allowed to put the ‘Chambertin’ before (rather than after its own), is considered one of the greats. Quality-wise the next best is generally acknowledged to be Mazis-Chambertin with incredibly concentrated and fine wines, but a little less firm than Le Chambertin. The tiny Griottes-Chambertin, which owes its name to the grill-pan shape of the vineyard rather than the wine’s griotte (sour) cherry aroma, is lower down the slope and boasts a velvety texture and rich fruit reminiscent of Chambertin itself. Gevrey’s largest Grand Cru, Charmes-Chambertin is pure and seductive.
The wines of Gevrey-Chambertin are deeply colored. They have intense aromas of currants and other small red and black fruits, animal notes of musk and fur, and often a touch of licorice after some bottle aging. They are powerful, with balanced tannins, a soft mouthfeel and good acidity. These are generally robust wines.
