The 2016 Gevrey Chambertin Village comes from ten parcels and includes 30% whole bunch fruit and, again, around 40% new oak. It has a fragrant and more feminine bouquet than the Morey-Saint-Denis, as you would expect, with touches of rose petal complementing the red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, fresh in the mouth with a lot of finesse on the finish. This is another superb village cru from Drouhin-Laroze.

The 2015 Gevrey-Chambertin Village is a blend of seven parcels, although the En Champs broke ranks and is now being vinified separately from this vintage forward. It has a pure and generous bouquet, a mixture of blue and black fruit that suggests something more Fixin in style. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, nimble on its toes, tapering a little towards the finish but maintaining freshness throughout. This is a well-crafted village cru.

The 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin Village has a clean and crisp strawberry and red-plum-scented bouquet that is lifted and quite precise. The palate is a little skinny on the entry and does not quite deliver the expected body toward the finish.

The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Village has a crisp raspberry and fresh strawberry scents. The palate has a tensile, linear opening. This is taut, masculine and quite serious, but there is ample freshness on the finish. This domaine must possess one of the most enviable portfolios in the Cote de Nuits, with several grand crus to their name scattered across 11.5-hectares of prime vineyard. So I guess one must ask the question why Drouhin-Laroze is not better known? I suppose you could argue that in the past, the wines had an air of commerciality about them, wines that were commendable and enjoyable, yet rarely approached the profundity of say Rousseau or Bachelet. Their intrinsic quality was not in doubt. The trouble is that when you have such a roll call of iconic grand crus to your name, the bar is simply raised. Personally, I have found much pleasure in previous vintages that always seem to show well in barrel. I have always found winemaker Philippe Drouhin to be a conscientious vigneron, usually with his wife Christine by his side, either in the office or pouring wines at tastings. And there is now a gradual changing over to the sixth generation as their son Nicolas and daughter Caroline, gain more involvement in the running of the estate that now includes a negociant arm overseen by Caroline. Tasting through their 2012s, there does remain a slight “heaviness” to the wines that you could align with say, Bernard Dugat, and that does not mean they are inherently inferior – just that it is a perceptible leitmotif that means they rarely contain the finesse or effortlessness of those aforementioned growers. I always come away thinking if that if they just tweaked their practices a little, they could suddenly see their wines capture that sense of magic – perhaps pick a little earlier, extract less and moderate the level of new wood that has always made an impression e.g. reconsider using 100% new oak for all the grand crus. This is an estate to watch. They have always quietly gone about creating very good wines, but it would not take much with those grand crus to see them suddenly elevated to the top league. Importer: available through Diva Beaune in the United States, also Atherton Wine Imports (www.awiwine.com) in California and through Fields, Morris & Verdin in the UK.