Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Petite Chapelle"

Jean-Louis Trapet's deliberate rejection of Gevrey's power archetype is nowhere more legible than in his Premier Cru work: no sulphur at harvest, during fermentation, or during ageing — a near-singular commitment in the Côte de Nuits that keeps aromatics naked and site-driven from the first pour. Petite Chapelle sits immediately below the Grand Cru belt on the mid-slope of Gevrey-Chambertin, its shallow soils of fine clays over fractured limestone delivering a cooler, more tensile expression than the deeper marl of the village floor. That limestone subsoil drives the wine's characteristic chalky grip and vertical acidity. In the cellar, partial to high whole-cluster inclusion (30–100% range for Premier Crus, vintage-dependent) feeds the fermentation in open vats with native yeasts; extraction is deliberately light — punch-downs at the start, then gentle pump-overs only — before 18–20 months in French oak barriques at 30–40% new. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered, with only a minimal sulphur dose at bottling. The special feature: Trapet's simultaneous use of very high whole-cluster percentages and an open, non-reductive élevage is a philosophical contradiction of current Burgundy fashion — most high-stem producers also embrace reductive protection; Trapet does not. The 2021 vintage delivered cool-season precision across the Côte de Nuits — taut, mineral, with freshness that rewards 3–5 years of cellaring but is already transparent and expressive.