Domaine Chevrot Bourgogne Aligote Tilleul
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Domaine Chevrot owns 18.5 hectare of vines; 50% pinot noir, 40% chardonnay, and ten percent aligote in appellations of Maranges, Santenay, and the Hautes Cotes de Beaune. Their oldest plots were planted by the current winemakersโ grandfather and are up to 75 years old. The brothers, Pablo and Vincent have maintained the traditions of their parents but have built upon their success: starting with conversion of the vineyards to organic viticulture in 2008. Working the soil is important and they own two horses and are now ploughing five hectares by horse. Seeded cover crops are another important element that brings fertility to the soil, aerates and restructures the soil, and limits erosion. Different plant types bring different elements: grains for structure, beans and clover trap nitrogen from the air and it gathers in the roots, getting released back to the soil. And cruciferous plants, like mustard, bring minerals and aerate the soil. They use organic compost in the vineyards and a minimum of copper and sulfur treatments as needed to treat oidium and mildew. They are practicing biodynamics as well but are not certified. Chevrot's goal is to make wines that reflect their terroir and the vintage, which means as little tinkering in the cellar as possible. The brothers never add enzymes, acidify or chaptalize and the red wines do not see any sulfur until bottling. The entry-level cuvees are destemmed and some whole clusters are kept on the village and 1er cru cuvees. Fermentations are completed only with the indigenous yeasts. The total sulfur is ten milligrams per liter on the reds and 30 - 50 milligrams per liter on the whites. The amount of new oak used depends on the cuvee and it's always used judiciously; Pablo explained that oak is necessary in Maranges because the region produces very powerful wines like Pommard or Nuits-Saint-Georges. The wines show exceptionally well young, something that Pablo attributes to not using much sulfur. Bowler has been working with Domaine Chevrot since 2010 and its been incredible to follow their journey. Maybe ten years ago, the wines had elements that could have been described as "sturdy and rustic". They were very powerful wines then and they still are today, but now, when I look through my tasting notes, amongst all of the detailed terroir info (Pablo is a fount of knowledge; great terroir map here), I see certain words repeated, "chrystalline, great tension, structured and pretty, yummy," and the highest praise, "excellent!!!" Over the years, they have fine-tuned their work and one word that I agree with Coates on is "honest". The Chevrot wines are a true expression of their terroir and show great purity with nothing added.