Producer note: The fervent biodynamist Jean-Louis Trapet calls 2012 a "tough vintage that was a struggle during the growing season yet ended very well. The flowering was quite poor and because of the shatter and high incidence of shot berries, yields were exceptionally low. In fact my yields were under 20 hl/ha and as a result I combined all of the Gevrey 1ers into one cuvée so there will be no individually bottled 1ers plus there will be no Capita in 2012 either. I used a bit more whole clusters and the percentages ranged from 30 to 90%. 2012 gave us great raw materials but there is just no quantity." Trapet has once again transcended the general quality of the vintage as his 2012s are really lovely wines. And his 2011s, revisited below in bottle, are excellent as well so both vintages are worth considering; they were bottled in March and April 2013. (Stacole Wines, www.stacolewines.com, FL, Polaner Selections, www.polanerselections.com, Mt. Kisco, NY and Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.bbr.com, UK, Corney & Barrow, www.corneyandbarrow.com, UK and Champagnes et Châteaux, www.champagnesandchateaux.co.uk, UK).
Tasting note: A somber, dense and sauvage nose of pungent earth, red currant and floral hints leads to impressively concentrated, intense and mouth coating flavors where the old vine dry extract is clearly visible on the balanced, mineral-tinged and impressively long finish. This notably firm and saline-infused effort will require up to a decade of cellar time, and overall, this is a villages well worth considering.
