Awards & Accolades:

92 Points – Burghound.com – Discreet but not invisible wood frames a ripe nose of blue and red pinot fruit that offers up notes of natural spice, underbrush, earth and a hint of violets that dissolve into equally earthy, serious and intensely sauvage big-bodied flavors that culminate in a robust and muscled finish that delivers excellent length. This is a big Charmes. Indeed it could easily pass for a Mazoyènes 92/2017+.

About This Wine:

Charmes-Chambertin is one of these 9 Grands Crus. The vineyard is situated on a subsoil of marl, covered by a thin surface of scree and the finest silt. Brown chalky soil developed over these deposits. Surface area: 0,57 hectares.

This terroir produces a wine with lots of charm, and extraordinary notes of red fruit, licorice and leather. Its firm structure allows for a minimum of 10 years of ageing.

Nature of the soil: A shallow sea withdrew over 100 million years ago leaving a peneplain consisting of a horizontal pile of marine sediment deposited in the Jurassic period. After the erection of the Alpes, several faults were produced, one between Lyon and Dijon gave birth to the Côtes de Nuits and Beaune. The formation of the Côte, with its eastern exposure, brought the Jurassic era’s geology up to date.

The Combe de Lavaux would eventually form an impressive alluvial cone extending from the vineyard to the plain. On one side of this valley the Côte des Grands Crus may be found, extending almost all the way to Morey, with its nine esteemed wines. The soil is a brown calcareous soil.

About The Winery:

Origins: As far as one traces back family Tortochot, one found an ancestor, vine-grower in Gevrey.

In the last century, Paul, the Gabriel’s grandfather, was a small vine-grower residing on the Chestnuttree place.

His son, Félix, get married with Louise Liébaut from Morey. Liébaut’s Family is well-known in Morey, a variety of Pinot Noir is called so, after the ancestor Eugène had selected it. The Félix’s son, Gabriel owns around 10 hectares.

History: Gabriel Tortochot, a fervent defender of Burgundy’s wines, notably through his actions as president of the “Syndicat Viticole de Gevrey-Chambertin” and his role on the “Comité National de L’INAO”, has transmitted his passion for terroir of Gevrey-Chambertin to his two daugthers, Brigitte and Chantal.

This latter ensures continuity and perenniaty in the management and development of the Domain. A graduate in Oenologie, she belongs to the new generation of wine producers who whish to produce wines with a taste of their “terroir”.

Vineyard Management: Here cultivation and vinification are managed with the greatest respect for Burgundian traditions. Vineyard management is classic: low-trained vines, which are very densely planted. (10,000 vine plants/ha)

Pruning is one of the most important tasks. It determines future yields through the ratio of grape bunches per vine plant and foliage covering. Throughout the entire vegetative and productive cycle, the vine-grower must prune the vines. In May and June we remove whatever is growing near the trunk of the vine or we remove the twin buds on the fruiting cane making sure to leave no more than 7 to 8 bunches per vine stock. It is necessary to trellis the vine, returning several times to prune each vine plant. In July, trimming eliminates young shoots, which exhaust the sap. Eventually, green harvesting must be conducted to eliminate excess unripe grapes in order to ensure optimal ripeness of the remaining grapes.

Throughout the vegetative cycle, it is necessary to intervene in order to fight various parasites. Nowadays, rather than treat systematically, we have learned that it is better to observe and step in only if it proves to be necessary. As for controlling grape moths such as Cochylis and Eudemis, sexual confusion allows for very direct protection against these two parasites. Regular observation allows us to determine the risk of infestation by acarinas so that intervention only occurs when the threshold has been reached. In this way, a balance between acarinas phytophagous and their natural predators, typhlodromus, is re-established.

The Domain: In 2003 we began – with the assistance of specialists from the Chambre d’Agriculture (a local agricultural body) – a review of how the vineyard was run, with the objective of making our production methods more environmentally-friendly. We decided to begin to move towards organic viticulture.

In our test vineyard, les Corvées, we decided that we would do our utmost to try to only use products that are chemical-free.

We only use organic raw materials – copper salts, sulphates, and natural insecticides (made from plants). To protect vines from mildew and oidium (powdery mildew) we use sprays made from plant extracts and highly-diluted bouillie bordelaise (a copper sulphate pulp) as well as sulphur flowers in powder form.

Our aims are: to protect the natural ecosystem; to protect plant-life, animals and insects on the ground; to put more emphasis on the soil’s lifespan; and to ensure the survival of local flora and fauna.

The alternatives to using chemical weedkiller are ploughing, weeding and letting natural grass growth occur.
The resulting soil will be both more natural and more representative the vineyard’s unique local soil type. The vines’ roots will be forced to go deeper into the soil to feed and will benefit from its higher content in mineral salts.

Only bio-dynamic (our energised) composted organic material will be added to the soil.

Crafting The Wines: Once vineyard management has come to a successful conclusion, the harvest takes place when the official start date has been set. We try to acquire grapes that have reached the most desirable sugar/acid balance.

The grapes are manually harvested, having been previously sorted in the vineyard to eliminate those that are not perfectly healthy or sufficiently ripe. The grapes are then 100% destemmed as the stems, rarely very ripe, will not impart anything but astringent tannins.

The grapes are gently crushed in order to release the juice and encourage fermentation. The grapes are put into tanks then cooled down (between 14-15°C). Controlling the temperature allows for a pre-fermentation cold maceration for 4 to 5 days before fermentation starts.

Once fermentation has begun, we pump over at the end of each day and punch down the cap twice a day. The must is analysed in order to determine the alcohol level and acidity so as to carefully measure chaptalisation. Fermentation takes place without the addition of cultured yeast. Temperatures are supervised so that they reach no more than 32°, 33°C. Once fermentation has finished, devatting then pressing takes place. Free-run and press-juice are blended.

After letting the juice settle for 24 hours, the wine is transferred to the cellar where it is placed in new oak barrels, 100% for the Grands Crus, 50% for the Premier Crus and 25% for the village wines. We use a medium toast for the barrels so that the wood doesn’t dominate the wine.

Barrel Aging: Ageing in barrels allows for the constant exchange between the wine and the air thanks to the porous nature of the wood. This results in a slow oxidation which ages the wine, diminishes astringency and stabilizes the colour. Substances resulting from wood particles breaking down impart the wine with vanilla notes thereby enriching it.

Barrel ageing also encourages the development of sediment from the largest particles, ultimately facilitating racking. Malolactic fermentation takes place over the 15 to 18 month period of barrel ageing. The first racking takes place once malolactic fermentation is complete. This fermentation lowers the wine’s natural acidity and modifies the aromas. Since 1999, we no long fine or filter our wines. In order for this to be successful, the grapes must be perfectly ripe, free of rot and suspended pectin. Finally, the wines are bottled after 15-18 months of barrel ageing.

Technical Analysis:

Appellation: Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

Varietals: 100% Pinot Noir

Alcohol: 13%