2013 Gevrey Chambertin Les Combottes
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The 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Combottes 1er Cru was late picked, according to winemaker Cyprien Arlaud, a vintage where he de-leafed and sorted the fruit. It has an attractive nose with loamy red berry fruit, fresh tobacco and brown spices. There's satisfying definition and freshness. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins and vibrant red fruit mixed with orange rind, gently fanning out toward the finish that has more substance than its peers. This is drinking beautifully now but should continue to give pleasure.
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Neal Martin
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes is a vintage that I had not tasted since the Burgfest tasting (blind). A couple of years on and I remain rather unimpressed by the aromatics, especially compared to the more complex and sophisticated 2012. It just lacks the terroir expression one would expect. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly chewy tannin on the entry, linear and conservative in nature with a rather simplistic finish that never quite achieves the potential of his Premier Cru. It is a wine that has never quite delivered from barrel and seems to be going nowhere fast. Tasted at Flint Wines’ Arlaud retrospective.
Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combottes has a reserved, slightly austere, earthy bouquet that needs more fruité to come through with aeration. It does begin to open in the glass however, offering Morello cherry and redcurrant jus. The palate is medium-bodied and quite fleshy in the mouth, supple with good acidity, tight at the moment, but there is sufficient substance on the finish to suggest that this will repay 5-7 years in the cellar. Tasted September 2016.
Good dark red. Knockout Gevrey aromas of blueberry, boysenberry, cassis, musky minerals and licorice, with nuances of game and earth. A suave, silky midweight with lovely refinement and grain to its berry, spice and earth flavors. No easy sweetness here but pliant from the outset. The very long, slowly building finish features a broad dusting of tannins and sneaky energy. This has turned out beautifully.