Clive Coates The Vine issue 169
The best results here since the great days of 1950s and 1960s. Trapet is back !

MARSANNAY 1997 Now in bulk in preparation for the bottling. Good colour. Round, rich, fat fruit. No weakness. Plenty of grip and depth. Medium body. Long. Even rich. Very good. From 2002.

Gevrey-Chambertin 1997 As above. Lovely fruit here. Medium to medium full body. Fresh, elegant and pure. Good persistence."". Very good. From 2003.

Gevrey-Chambertin Petite Chapelle 1997 Not yet racked. Plenty of depth and substance. Lovely, pure black fruit on the nose. Good grip. This is a very good example with good backbone and elegance. Long. Impressive. From 2004.

Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur 1997 A litlle reduced, a littleastringent. But under this a good meaty, spicy wine. More masculine and muscular and less elegant petits fruits rouges aspect than the Petite Chapelle. Fine follow-throught. Again very good. From 2004/2005.

Latricières-Chambertin 1997 Another fine colour. This is more opulent, more spicy. Slightly more tannic. Once again the fine fruit of the vintage, very well supported by substance and grip."" A bit sauvage. But a fine wine.From 2005/2006.

Chapelle-Chambertin 1997 Very good colour. Most impressive fruit here. Pure, cool, fresh and concentrated. Very classy and very intense. This is a very lovely wine. One of the best Chapelles I have seen for years. Full, rich and complete. Very fine. From 2005/2006.

Chambertin 1997 This is excellent. Full, rich and very concentrated with particulary lovely cool, youthful and surprisingly well-balanced Pinotfruit. Very classy. Really concentrated. Really intense. Very fine indeed. The best wine chez Trapet since the good old days of the 1960s. From 2007

INTERNATIONAL WINECELLAR
Steven TANZER

Nineteen ninety-seven was Burgundy’s most Mediterranean vintage since 1990, according to Jean-Louis Trapet. "It was hot in term of the temperature of the grapes and the levels of potential alcohol." Gentle extraction and cold élevage were necessary to preserve fruit.

For some of his lesser cuvées Trapet used a bit of acidification to facilitate the extraction of colour during cuvaison, but none of the grand crus were acidified. I tasted most of the -97’ from tank, where they were awaiting bottling. Trapet’s wines continue to improve from vintage to vintage, and he has excelled in both ’97 and ’96.

Gevrey-Chambertin bottled in December: Bright red-ruby. Blackcurrant and coffee on the nose. sweet and silky in the mouth, with harmonious acidity. Smooth village wine with good Gevrey character. Finishes with dusty tannins. 86.

Gevrey-Chambertin Ostrea (this cuvée was named after the oyster shells founds in these plots on the Brochon side of Gevrey: good bright ruby-red. deeper, broader aromas of currant and chocolate. A sweeter, richer, more volume wine, with very good breadth of flavor. Finishes with lots of smooth tannins. 87-88.

Gevrey-Chambertin Petite Chapelle: good full red, , not quite as dark as the last two samples. More sauvage aromas of blackberry, plum, graphite, espresso and gibiers. Sweet, oaky and seamless; enveloping chocolate flavour, fat and rich. Finishes with dusty tannins and sneaky length.87-9l.

Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur: Bright red-ruby. More minerally, high-pitched aromas of black cherry, cassis and coffee. Fat. smoky and deep, with superripe chocolate and plum flavors. Broad and easygoing, in the gentle style of the vintage. But shows plenty of persistence. 87-89.

Chapelle-Chambertin Bright ruby-red. Explosive, roasted aromas of smoked game, chocolate and cove, with a mineral nuance; comes across as oakier than the ’96. Large-scaled, lush and very rich in the mouth; in texture, this struck me as rather Pomerol-like. But one still senses the firm mineral spine underneath the sweet flesh. Big and enveloping; the tannins reach the entire mouth. 89-91.

Latricières-Chambertin: Deep ruby-red. Very complex, cooler aromas of black cherry, dark chocolate, spice and coffee ; shows a slightly mentholated aspect that refreshing for the vintage. Pristine arc detailed in the mouth; Less fat than the above but more shapely and delineate. This is vivacious for a ’97 and quite fine. Lush, utterly seamless finish features perfectly distributed tannins. 90-93.

Chambertin: Bright-ruby-red. Knockout aromas of currant, wild plum, mocha, minerals, coffee grounds and smoked meat. Highly concentrated, with a compelling sappy sweetness.

Excellent balancing acidity and a firm mineral underpinning give this fleshy wine superb clarity of flavor. Finishes very long and juicy. A very full style of’97 that should age well and taste good young. 92-94

The qualitative resurgence at Domaine Trapet is stunning, and terrific news for red Burgundy aficionados as the estate has a bevy of top vineyard sites (and the prices have yet to catch up to quality !). Facing what Jean-Louis Trapet described as a "Mediterranean vintage", due to its heat, dryness and high natural potential alcohol levels, Trapet opted to cool the grapes immediately after they had been sorted. They were left to do an 8-10 day cold maceration, with daily pigeages without remontage (pumping over) and then performed a 21-27 day cuvaison. The wines were left on their lees thoughout their élevage, with sulphur being added directly to the lees, using a long syringe. At Domaine Trapet, 30-70 % new oak is employed. The medium to dark ruby-colored .

1997 GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN Petite Chapelle offers blackberry, rosemary, and tar-like aromas. It is a well-extracted, dense, powerful, intense and broad wine. Flavors reminiscent of super-ripe blackberries and spices can be found in its intricate and flavorful core. Projected maturity 2000-2008. The brigh, medium to dark ruby-colored.

1997 CHAPELLE-CHAMBERTIN exhibits rosemary, thyme, blackberries, and roasted stone scents. it bursts forth on the palate with licorice, blackberry jam, iodine and oak spice flavors. This mucular wine saturates the taster's mouth with its boisterous personality, yet maintains a soft, chewy texture. Its impressively long and complex finish reveals, through the suave nature of its tannic backbone, the magnificent ripeness of its grapes.

The darker colored 1997 LATRICIERES-CHAMBERTIN has profound prune, plum, and licorice flavors. The satin-textured, explosive, deep, masculine wine is more tannic, structured and powerful than even the Chapelle. Blackberry juice, mint, and plums can be found throughout its deep flavor profile and opulently flavored, persistent finish. itis one of the rare 1997's that will require cellaring patience yet has the potential for mid- to log-term aging. Projected maturity 2003-2012+.

Trapet's medium to dark ruby-colored CHAMBERTIN is one of the vintage's superstars. Its fresh, blackberry Asian spice, and earth-scented nose leads to a stupendously profound, deep, and expansive personality. Prunes, earth, leather, blackberries, and juniper berries can be discerned in this chewy, thick, velvety-textured wine. If the color black has a flavor, this wine embodies it. This tour de force in wine-making and vineyard work should be consumed betwwen 2003-2012+. Bravo!