Eighty years before the Controlled Designation of Origin Act, the first classification of the Côte d'Or was made by Dr Jean Laval in his "Histore et Statistique de la Vigne et des Grands Vins de la Côte d'Or" ("History and Statistics of the Vines and Great Wines of the Côte d'Or Department"), published in 1855. The first classification of the Côte d'Or, carried out by Dr Jean Laval in his "Histoire et Statistique de la Vigne et des Grands Vins de la Côte d'Or" ("History and Statistics of the Vines and Great Wines of the Côte d'Or"), focused specifically on geology and used a four-level grading system for the vineyard. In the village of Jouvret-Chambertin, only Chambertin, including Clos de Beze, was classified as a Tête de Cuvée (special wine), and the next highest category, Première Cuvée (first class wine), was headed by the Magic Cuvée (Grand Cru), classified as a Grand Cru in 1936 under the Law on Designation of Origin. The first of the Première Cuvée was Clos Saint Jacques, which is still a first class vineyard, rather than Magie-Chambertin or Luchot-Chambertin, which were declared Grand Cru (special class vineyards) by the 1936 Act on Designation of Origin. Dr Laval's classification, which left little room for political opinion, seems to indicate the true potential of the vineyard even today.
Gevrey Chambertin
It is the largest commune (village) in the Côte de Nuits, with 532 hectares (ha) of vineyards, a vast area for the Côte d'Or, and nine of the only 24 special classified vineyards in the Côte de Nuits are concentrated here. Nine of the only 24 speciality vineyards in the Côte de Nuits are concentrated here. Located on the south side of the village on east-facing slopes at an altitude of 260-320 metres above sea level, the speciality vineyards are led by Chambertin (12.9 ha), with Chambertin Clos de Beze (15.4 ha) next to its northern neighbour, Latricière Chambertin (7.4 ha) to the south and Magie Chambertin (9.1 ha), Luchot Chambertin (3.3 ha) west of Magie on the upper slopes, Grillotte Chambertin (2.7 ha) east of Clos de Beze across the Grand Cru road, Chapelle Chambertin (5.5 ha) north of Grillotte, and Charmes-Chambertin (12.2 ha) across the road from Chambertin, and Mazoyères-Chambertin (18.6 ha) to the south of it, giving a total area of 87 ha of speciality vineyards. Of these, wines from the Chambertin Clos de Beze vineyard can be marketed under the name 'Chambertin' as well as the controlled name 'Chambertin Clos de Beze', and similarly, those from the Mazoyères vineyard can be marketed not only as 'Mazoyères Chambertin' but also as It can also be sold as 'Charme Chambertin'. However, while most producers with parcels in Mazoyères sell their wines under the more well-known 'Charmes Chambertin' name, many producers with parcels in Clos de Beze do not choose the well-known 'Chambertin' name and sell their wines as The fact that many producers who own plots in Clos de Bèze do not choose the well-known 'Chambertin' name, but instead use the name 'Chambertin Clos de Bèze' as it is, has certain implications.
In the village of Jouvret-Chambertin, the local climate is very important due to its geographical position: the steep little valley called Combe de Lavaux, located to the north of the speciality vineyards, helps to divert hail and other bad weather to the west, so the speciality vineyards are rarely affected by hailstorms. Cold air also flows down to the bottom of the slopes, so it is rare for the topmost vineyards to suffer frost damage, and in fact in 1985, when frost destroyed over 80 ha of vineyards in Jouvret-Chambertin, none of the classics were affected. Amongst the classified vineyards, which slope gently from west to east, with shallower topsoil and better drainage on the upper western slopes, Chambertin has a slightly southerly, sunny slope, and it seems that Dr Laval had good reason in 1855 to theoretically rank this vineyard as top of his list.
Best vineyard ≠ best wine.
The 12.9 ha Chambertin vineyard is divided into 55 parcels on the land register and is owned by about 25 separate owners. Producers include such outstanding producers as Armand Rousseau (2.2ha), Leroy (0.5ha), Denis Mortet (0.15ha) and Domaine des Chézeaux [farmed and vinified by Domaine Ponsot] (0.14ha), who produce impressive wines, but these are a tiny minority. They are rarely seen by the general public and disappear into the cellars of fine restaurants. Unfortunately, most of the Chambertin found in Japanese retail outlets is commercialist and not really a Chambertin at all, and rarely offers value for money.
In contrast, the Special Classification vineyard I personally have the most faith in is Grillotte Chambertin, the smallest in size, with nine owners including Domaine Fourier, Des Chézeaux [Domaine Ponsot and Domaine René Leclerc farm and vinify separate plots], Claude Dugas and Joseph Loti. The best producers are represented, producing wines of a high standard.
In addition, Clos Saint-Jacques (6.7 ha), which was declared a first-class vineyard under the 1936 Designation of Origin Act simply because it was 'not adjacent to Chambertin or Clos de Beze', despite its recognised geographical advantages, is owned by five owners (Domaine Armand Rousseau, Louis Jadot, Fourier, Sylvie Esmonan, Sylvie Esmonan and Sylvie Esmonan and Bruno Clerc) all of whom are good producers and clearly better than Chambertin if you take the average scores of the wines in circulation. Domaine Armand Rousseau, which owns the largest parcel in Chambertin at 2.2ha, is the leading traditionalist producer in the Jouvre-Chambertin, but owner Eric Rousseau has also made his first-class vineyard, Clos Saint Jacques, a superior wine to the special classifieds Luchot-Chambertin and He uses around 80% new oak for ageing Clos St Jacques and 100% new oak for Chambertin and Clos de Beze, while no new oak is used for the other Grands Crus. In addition, at Domaine Armand Rousseau, Clos St Jacques is always served just before Chambertin and Clos de Beze, i.e. after Luchot and Magie.
The auction includes over 130 gems from the village of Jouvre-Chambertin, including Clos Saint-Jacques and Armand Rousseau's Chambertin.