John Gilman 2013
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Wines

2013 Volnay "En Carelle" : The 2013 la Carelle is a lovely bottle of Volnay in the making, offering up a pretty bouquet of black cherries, plums, cocoa, a fine base of soil, vanillin oak and a smoky topnote. On the palate, the wine is medium-full, pure and velvety on the attack, with a good core, fine focus and grip, a touch of tannin, and good length on the succulent finish. This will only need four or five years to really start to drink well but is well-balanced and should also keep quite well. 2020-2045. 89+.


2013 Volnay "Clos de la Chapelle" : The 2013 Clos de la Chapelle is a very nice wine as well, with a touch of less optimal ripeness than is customary in this wine, which I suspect is the result of the vines devoting a significant sum of energy to trying to rebuild their foliage in the wake of the July hail. The bouquet is still quite pretty, delivering notes of cherries, quince, woodsmoke, cocoa, a touch of pepper, a nice bit of weediness (reminiscent of good Sonoma pinot), soil tones, and vanillin oak. On the palate, the wine is deep, fullish, and quite pure on the attack, with a good core, tangy acids, and a long, complex, and moderately tannic finish. Good juice. 2020-2050. 90+.


2013 Volnay "Taillepieds" : The new addition of Taillepieds in the Clos de la Chapelle cellars hails from a parcel of forty to fifty year-old vines that lie between the rows of Domaines de Montille and Marquis d'Angerville, so very well-placed indeed. With the hail damage, there were only three casks of this wine this year, with one barrel being new oak. The wine is excellent and sappy on both the nose and palate, offering up a deep and complex nose of red and black cherries, gamebird, a complex base of soil, woodsmoke, fresh herbs, and a deft framing of vanillin oak. On the palate, the wine is pure, full-bodied, elegant, and nicely reserved out of the blocks, with a fine core of fruit, ripe tannins, and a long, nascently complex and very classy finish. This was one of the 2013s where the malo was late to finish, and the wine had only been bottled a month prior to my visit. A superb new source for top-flight Taillepieds! 2022-2060. 93.


2013 Pommard "Chanlins" : I love the domaine's old vine bottling of Chanlins, which hails from eighty-year-old vines, and the 2013 has turned out very well indeed. The lovely nose wafts from the glass in a youthful blend of red plums, cherries, cocoa, a bit of pigeon, a superb base of soil, fresh herb tones, and cedar. On the palate, the wine is pure, full-bodied, and very, very elegant on the attack, with excellent mid-palate depth, ripe tannins, a fine sense of sappiness, and a very long, transparent finish. Fine juice in the making. 2021-2060. 92+.


2013 Pommard "Grands Epenots" : Another new addition in the cellar, there are only two casks this year of Grands Epenots due to the hail, but this is destined to be a reference point example of this fine vineyard in the years to come. The parcel is planted with forty to fifty-year-old vines as well and offers up a superb and nicely reserved bouquet of red and black cherries, fine minerality, woodsmoke, gamebirds, herb tones, cedar, and a touch of peonies in the upper register. On the palate, the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure, and nicely structured, with a rock-solid core, fine focus and grip, and a long, tangy, ripely tannic finish. Fine, fine juice in the making. 2023-2060. 92+.


2013 Corton "Rognet" : A couple of Corton bottlings are certainly welcome at this growing and exemplary domaine, with the 2013 Rognet showing really lovely purity and transparency right out of the blocks. The excellent and quite red fruity bouquet delivers a mélange of cherries, strawberries, a touch of blood orange, woodsmoke, stony minerality, mustard seed, and a stylish framing of cedar. On the palate, the wine is deep, full-bodied, and impressively pure on the attack, with a very good core, ripe tannins, tangy acids, and a long, properly youthful and chewy finish. A lovely bottle of young Corton, but give it a good decade in the cellar to blossom. 2025-2075. 94.


2013 Corton "Bressandes" : As is the case with the Rognet, there are three and a half barrels of Bressandes in the cellars this year, with one cask new, so this is roughly thirty percent new wood. This is also an excellent bottle of Corton in the making, wafting from the glass in a complex blend of cherries, red plums, venison, a superbly complex base of soil tones, fresh thyme, woodsmoke, and a touch of cedar. On the palate, the wine is deep, full-bodied, and again, very pure on the attack, with a fine core, excellent focus and grip, and lovely balance on the long, ripely tannic finish. A lovely example. 2025-2075. 93+ 


2013 Beaune "Reversées" Blanc : The 2013 Beaune "Reversées" Blanc from Domaine de Clos de la Chapelle was raised in twenty-five percent new wood and is produced from thirty to thirty-five year-old vines. The wine is bright and quite classy in this difficult vintage, wafting from the glass in a mix of apple, quince, lime zest, a lovely base of soil, and a deft touch of vanillin oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, crisp and nicely focused, with a good core, fine focus and grip, and a long, succulent and nicely racy finish. Good juice. 2015-2025. 89.


2013 Corton-Charlemagne : There is only a single cask of Corton-Charlemagne this year in the Clos de la Chapelle cellars, with the wine being raised in a one wine barrel. This hails from a thirty ares parcel of forty-five year-old vines in Pernand, with a westerly exposition. The wine is gorgeous on both the nose and palate, jumping from the glass in a complex blend of pear, apple, honeysuckle, lemon zest, fine minerality, and a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate, the wine is deep, full-bodied, and complex, with a superb core of fruit, fine focus and grip, and a very long, racy and mineral-defined finish. Utterly classic juice, but already quite accessible and it will be no crime to drink this wine on the early side, as it is really quite delicious already. A very auspicious beginning for this bottling at the domaine! 2015-2030+. 94.