Domaine Humbert Frères Gevrey-Chambertin Les Poissenots 1er Cru(2002)

evaporated a lot of juice and thank goodness because otherwise there would have been a lot of dilute wine made at many addresses. Even with all the green harvest we did and the north wind, we still had an average of 40 hl/ha and I know a lot of domaines brought in much more crop than we did. 2002 is slightly riper than 2001 but both have a terrific freshness to them with elegance, detail and class. Humbert says the plan is to bottle in January and February. I agree with Humbert that his 2001s are terrific wines though the 2002s struck me as ever-so-slightly better balanced and complete though the difference in quality is on the margin and is slight. I have been visiting the domaine since 1998 and the 2002 vintage is the best I have ever seen from them. The wines are bright, clean and fruit forward in the best sense, well made and despite the high percentage of new oak for the upper level crus, the finished wines rarely display any overt wood influence; this is primarily due to their specification to receive lightly toasted barrels. In sum, this is a domaine to watch as the quality here continues to skyrocket. (The agent for both the US and the UK is Michael Stephens/Vins Divins, Beaune, FR - Vins.divins@wanadoo.fr; There are many distributors, including Boston Wine Co, Fruit of the Vine, NY and Langdon Shiverick, OH; Decorum Vintners, Laytons, Mayfair Cellars and Lay & Wheeler, UK). A touch of wood spice frames an explosive nose of racy and intense red fruit aromas cut with obvious minerality. The wonderfully fresh flavors are detailed, precise and focused with excellent complexity and fine length. This is a really pretty wine and while it doesn't carry the power of some of the better 1ers here, it is beautifully balanced. In short, this is really lovely juice.    (hide)

evaporated a lot of juice and thank goodness because otherwise there would have been a lot of dilute wine made at many addresses. Even with all the green harvest we did and the north wind, we still had an average of 40 hl/ha and I know a lot of domaines brought in much more crop than we did. 2002 is slightly riper than 2001 but both have a terrific freshness to them with elegance, detail and class. Humbert says the plan is to bottle in January and February. I agree with Humbert that his 2001s are terrific wines though the 2002s struck me as ever-so-slightly better balanced and complete though the difference in quality is on the margin and is slight. I have been visiting the domaine since 1998 and the 2002 vintage is the best I have ever seen from them. The wines are bright, clean and fruit forward in the best sense, well made and despite the high percentage of new oak for the upper level crus, the finished wines rarely display any overt wood influence; this is primarily due to their specification to receive lightly toasted barrels. In sum, this is a domaine to watch as the quality here continues to skyrocket. (The agent for both the US and the UK is Michael Stephens/Vins Divins, Beaune, FR - Vins.divins@wanadoo.fr; There are many distributors, including Boston Wine Co, Fruit of the Vine, NY and Langdon Shiverick, OH; Decorum Vintners, Laytons, Mayfair Cellars and Lay & Wheeler, UK). A touch of wood spice frames an explosive nose of racy and intense red fruit aromas cut with obvious minerality and plenty of pinot character. The wonderfully fresh flavors are detailed, precise and focused with excellent complexity and fine length. This is a really pretty wine and while it doesn't carry the power of some of the better 1ers here, it is beautifully balanced. In short, this is really lovely juice.    (hide)