Domaine Trapet Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Ostréa 2015

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

From very old vines situated in Village, En Derée and Champerrier Bas near Brochon, and Trapet notes that a high percentage are more than 90 years of age

About Domaine Trapet Père et Fils

Trapet Père et Fils is a seventh generation Gevrey-Chambertin estate and one of the largest holders of Chambertin (1.9 hectares). Known throughout much of its history as Domaine Louis Trapet, it was renamed in 1993 when the estate’s vineyard holdings were divided, with half of the holdings going to Domaine Rossignol-Trapet. The other half of the estate was renamed Domaine Trapet Père et Fils and is run by Jean-Louis Trapet.

Jean-Louis is regarded as one of the pioneers of natural viticulture in the region, and continues to lead the way in biodynamic farming (along with pals Frederic Lafarge, Dominique Lafon, Lalou Bize Leroy and others). As of 2009 the entire estate is demeter-certified.

The estate is known for its three great Grand Crus, though the quality at Domaine Trapet Père et Fils is simply outstanding up and down their hierarchy.

The domaine also owns parcels in three top premier crus: Clos Prieur, Les Corbeaux and Petite Chapelle. The Clos Prieur and Petite Chapelle plots were some of the the first vines purchased by the family in the late 19th century, followed by Petite Chapelle in 1877, and Clos Prieur in 1893. The Les Corbeaux parcel was purchased much more recently. Because these plots are relatively small, vintages with tiny yields are sometimes combined to make a wine named “Cuvee Capita 1er Cru”.

Trapet’s outstanding grand crus (Latricières-Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin and Chambertin) are crafted to really highlight their underlying terroirs. Though they may not be as ‘big’ or powerfully constructed as some of their other more flashy neighbors in Gevrey-Chambertin, they are in the top echelon in terms of aromatics, flavor complexity, expression of terroir, and aging potential.

Like the man himself, there is an elegance, grace and purity to the wines that is haunting and rare in a village where power dominates. All in all, Domaine Trapet Père et Fils is at the top of their game, with Jean-Louis crafting wines that are as stunning as any in the great history of this long-respected Gevrey superstar.

Check out Levi Dalton’s interview with Jean-Louis Trapet on the I’ll Drink To That! podcast.
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The 2015 Vintage at Domaine Trapet Père et Fils

The fervent biodynamist Jean-Louis Trapet exclaimed that “last year I told you that I have never experienced such an easy growing season as we had in 2015! I should be more careful in the future as I have rarely had such difficulties as we experienced in 2016! The frost caused a lot of problems and particularly so in Marsannay and in Chambertin and to a slightly lesser, but still significant, extent in Latricières. My father told me that in all his years he had never seen such extensive frost damage as we suffered. Then the mildew was especially virulent and all the more so in the vines that had suffered frost injury. In the end we managed but I won’t pretend that it was easy.

We picked from the 26th of September under ideal conditions and brought in clean and ripe fruit though not very much of it. I used between 25 and 60% whole clusters compared to 50 to 100% in 2015. As to the wines, while I like both 2015 and 2016, the ’16s are more Burgundian in spirit in my view due to the fact that they are even more transparent to the underlying terroirs.” I was reasonably impressed by the Trapet 2016s and would observe that they mostly bettered the general level of quality that I found elsewhere in Gevrey. With that said, the Trapet 2015s are clearly a notch up if not as classically styled.

Allen Meadows, Burghound

The 2015s that I tasted at Domaine J-L Trapet were without question, the best I had ever tasted at this address. Maybe it was one of those occasions whereby I fought to keep my excitement disguised behind my poker face. I tasted down in the cellars, switched on my laptop as usual. “There is no wifi connection down here thank God,” Jean-Louis Trapet forewarned as I automatically connected onto the TWA software system. “The picking date was very important in 2015. It rained on the Sunday 12 September. We started picking on the Monday 6 September and picked everything before the rain. We had a big team of pickers and managed to harvest right at optimal maturity. I used a minimum of 50% whole bunch for all the cuvées, around 80-90% for the grand crus. We will rack in February for bottling in April.” As one of the most ardent biodynamic winemakers, Jean-Louis’ wines tend to wear their heart of their sleeves, reflecting their terroir and growing season for good, and it has to be said, occasionally not so good. However, his 2015s are brilliant wines brimming over with tension and vivacity. Perhaps “electrifying” is the most apt word in the dictionary and that energy is going to ensure they will repay long-term ageing. I’ve always enjoyed Trapet’s wines but frankly, never expected them to blow me away like these 2015s.

Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate Dec 2016

Where in the World is Domaine Trapet Père et Fils

Domaine Trapet Père et Fils is located in Gevrey-Chambertin, an appellation of the Cote de Nuits celebrated for its Pinot Noirs. Learn more about this impressive region with our Wine Bites article: Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 9.1