2018 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux Premier Cru

A man of the vineyards, Arnaud Mortet is driven to produce perfect Pinot fruit from meticulously tended vineyards. He is without question one of the finest growers of the entire Côte and as great wines are the products of great fruit, it is no coincidence that he is producing some of the finest wines in Burgundy today. There is no doubt that the wines are more refined than those produced while his father was alive, yet they share the same intensity and potential longevity. Arnaud is continuing Denis' dream of producing more refined wines, openly getting closer stylistically to the wines of his uncle, Charles Rousseau, without sacrificing depth and intensity or consistency across the range.

With its eroded limestone walls covered in creepers and wildflowers, this is one of Gevrey’s most picturesque vineyards. It is situated high on the border of Brochon next to Les Evocelles. The vines are now 80 years old. The soils here are very stony with red clays, and the mother-rock is very close to the surface. Mortet ploughs his four small plots (totalling 0.5-hectares) by horse. This is a site that typically delivers very small berries and powerful, ripe fruit flavours with high-grown, fruit-of-the-forest finesse and freshness. Mortet has reduced the new wood content (now 60%, down from 100% in his father’s era). It’s a terroir that gifts wines of a more structured, more ‘Gevrey’ style.

Other Reviews....
This is also aromatically super-fresh with a lovely mélange of plum, dark raspberry and earth that is trimmed in just enough wood to merit pointing out. The racy, intense and beautifully stony medium weight flavors exhibit focused power on the long and chiseled finish where the wood telegraphed by the nose reemerges. This too is very good. Drink 2030+.
91-93 points
Allen Meadows - Burghound

Mortet's 2018 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Champeaux derives from a parcel planted more than 80 years ago, and as usual it's one of the more muscular, age-worthy wines in the range. Unfurling in the glass with notes of cherries, woodsmoke, cassis, candied citrus peel and incense, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and complete, with velvety tannins, impressive concentration and succulent acids.
93-95 points
William Kelley - Wine Advocate (Jan 2020)

The 2018 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux 1er Cru comes from 70- to 80-year-old vines in the four corners of the vineyard, matured with 25–30% whole bunches and 60% new oak. It has a classy, beautifully defined bouquet that features crystalline red berry fruit and superb mineralité, the stem addition seamlessly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with filigreed tannins and silky in texture. Pure and elegant, with a very sustained finish. Stunning. Drink 2022 - 2044.
94-96 points
Neal Martin - Vinous

4 different plots, all old vines between 60 to 80 years, worked by hand and by horse. The two bigger plots are each in their own clos with 20cm earth while the two smaller plots are lower down with a touch more soil. Wood reduction, will be racked soon, nothing has been so far. Bottle April. A very elegant wine beneath, with a good thread of acidity balancing the ripe dark fruit. Very extensive finish. Lovely.
93-96 points
Jasper Morris - Inside Burgundy