At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Burgundy
- Village
- Gevrey-Chambertin
- Subregion
- Côte de Nuits
- Main grape
- Pinot Noir
- Named wines
- Chambertin Grand Cru, Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru
- Defining feature
- Biodynamic viticulture and Demeter certification
The Producer
Jean-Louis Trapet leads Domaine Trapet Père et Fils, a Burgundy domaine based in Gevrey-Chambertin in the Côte de Nuits. Pinot Noir is the primary grape in the Burgundy holdings. The range covers the village name, a Premier Cru bottling and named Grand Cru wines.
In Burgundy, Grand Cru is the highest vineyard classification, while Premier Cru sits below it. These terms describe the vineyard level printed on the label, moving from a village appellation to a classified vineyard address.
Place
At Gevrey-Chambertin, the label can move from the village name to a Premier Cru or a named Grand Cru vineyard. The Côte de Nuits is the Burgundy subregion in which the village sits, and the range includes Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru en Ergot alongside Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin and Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru.
A village appellation uses the commune name. Premier Cru and Grand Cru names identify classified vineyard levels, making the vineyard address more specific as the label rises through the hierarchy.
Story
Jean-Louis Trapet assumed full leadership of the domaine in 1993. In 1998, Domaine Trapet adopted biodynamic viticulture, becoming one of the first domaines in the Côte de Nuits to do so. The estate received official Demeter biodynamic certification in 2009.
Biodynamic farming treats the vineyard as a living system, using preparations and work timed to natural cycles. The farming method preceded the certification, which later supplied a formal standard for the work already underway.
Vineyards And Cellar
Chambertin 2021 includes 60% whole clusters. Whole cluster fermentation leaves the stems with the grapes, and stems can contribute perfume, spice and firmer tannins when they are ripe. The percentage is a defined cellar choice for this named Grand Cru cuvée.
Wines
The range includes Gevrey-Chambertin, Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée 1859, Gevrey-Chambertin OSTREA, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru en Ergot, and Grand Cru wines named Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin and Latricières-Chambertin.
The listed bottles are red wines, with Pinot Noir as the primary Burgundy grape. Their labels distinguish village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru levels, while Cuvée 1859 and OSTREA provide separate named wines under the Gevrey-Chambertin name.
In The Glass
Latricières-Chambertin 2018 brings cherries, cassis, dark chocolate, forest floor and rose petals. Chambertin 2021 has red and black fruit with loam, crushed stone and spicebox.
Chambertin 2021 is medium bodied, with pliant tannins, depth, intensity and vibrancy. Its finish is long and persistent.
A Bottle To Understand It
Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru 2021 is the first bottle to open. It is a red Grand Cru from a named vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin, placing the home village and the vineyard classification together on one label.
The bouquet brings cherry, raspberry and strawberry with violet and mineral undertones. Finely woven, velvety tannins, invigorating acidity and a long mineral driven finish complete the wine.
Anecdote
During the phylloxera crisis, Louis Trapet grafted American rootstock onto phylloxera ravaged vines at night, when the practice was illegal. Rootstock is the rooted base of a grafted vine, and grafting joins it to the desired vine above ground. The work saved the vineyard. The replanted vines later became sources of replanting material for regional restoration efforts.
Final Word
Domaine Trapet joins biodynamic viticulture with red wines labelled at Gevrey-Chambertin, Premier Cru and Grand Cru levels.
Sources
- www.amsterdamvintagewine.com/producers/domaine-trapet
- www.comptoirdesmillesimes.com/blog/en/domaine-trapet
- www.lebendigeweine.de/en/trapet-pere-fils-chapelle-chambertin-grand-cru-2021
- chapfour.com/products/trapet-latricieres-chambertin-2018
- tastingbook.com/wine/domaine_trapet_pere_et_fils/chambertin_2021