Frédéric Esmonin is notorious for bottling his wines early, and his are always amongst the very first reds we see from any Burgundy vintage. He believes in preserving as much fruit as he can in his bottlings and while, in some vintages, this can make his wines seem a little less immediately transparent than some other producers, in 2023, a spectacular harvest, we have a set of wines from Esmonin that are packed with concentrated, sexy fruit and serve as wonderful windows into their respective terroirs. And, after that extra time in the bottle, it’s really developed nicely as well. Esmonin presented a magnificent lineup across the board in 2023—one of the best since 2010, I think. Frédéric himself says they have the best attributes of both 2018 and 2022. I’ll take that.
Though I love the whole lot, I’ve gone all in for Frédéric’s beautiful 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur, my absolute favorite Gevrey value. If this is how the 2023 reds are going to roll, count me in! The vineyard, Clos Prieur, is actually the lieu dit lower ‘bas’ portion of the vineyard that adjoins to the Premier Cru parcel of the same name, right on the west side of the RN-74 highway. It’s ideally sited—a stone’s throw to the Grand Crus Chapelle-Chambertin and Clos de Bèze—and planted to old Pinot Noir vines that routinely create concentrated wines without the hard edges and pushy acidity for which young Gevrey is infamous. The 2023 reveals a bottomless well of deep, cool violet-scented crunchy dark fruit that develops enticing nuances of minty herb, matsutake mushroom, star anise and cinnamon as it opens up with air.
On the plusher side of Gevrey, this intense and flavorful wine will, at least in its youth, be more suited for grilled lamb chops rather than that roasted leg, but give it time to let in come together and you’ll be pleased to have a top-caliber Gevrey-Chambertin at a great price. (We never see top lieu dit wines from the Côtes de Nuits for under $75 these days!)
