Dominique Laurent

Cuvée Tradition • Marsannay • Gevrey Chambertin • Morey St. Denis • Vosne Romanée • Nuits St. Georges • Mercurey Grandes Cuvées • Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes • Chambolle Musigny Vieilles Vignes • Vosne Romanée • Nuits St. Georges No. 1 • Beaune Vieilles Vignes No. 11 • Chorey les Beaune • Savigny les Beaune • Pommard Vieilles Vignes • Volnay • Santenay 1er Cru • Fixin Hervelets • Gevrey Chambertin Bel Air • Gevrey Chambertin Les Champeaux • Gevrey Chambertin Les Cazetières • Gevrey Chambertin Lavaux St. Jacques • Gevrey Chambertin Clos St. Jacques • Gevrey Chambertin Combottes • Gevrey Chambertin Petite Chapelle   Grands Crus • Charmes Chambertin • Mazis Chambertin Cuvée B • Chambertin Clos de Bèze • Clos de la Roche • Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes • Clos St. Denis • Bonnes Mares • Echezeaux • Grands Echezeaux • Clos Vougeot • Clos Vougeot Vieilles Vignes Region Burgundy, France U.S. Distributors California:   Wine Warehouse       Dominique Laurent. Download hi-res version of photo: 700K   The intense and affable ex-pastry chef, Dominique Laurent, has been indulging his passion to produce the finest quality Burgundies since he first burst upon the scene with the 1993 vintage. Each year he arranges to purchase many tiny lots of grapes from a wide range of growers with ancient vines. He handcrafts his wines using his so-called "Magic Barrels" in several small cellars in Nuits St. Georges. A gifted and experienced practitioner of non-interventionist winemaking, Dominique labors intensively to preserve and feature the purity and freshness of the fruit and the character of the terroirs he works with. His fermentations use only wild, natural yeasts and are allowed to go on until completed, sometimes many months. He uses little to no sulphur, preferring CO2 as an antioxidant that will not adversely affect the nature of the wine. He uses specially made barrels with hand-picked staves and leaves the wines on their lees without racking until bottling. The wines are never pumped, fined or filtered. They are bottled by hand. Most of the wines are aged 100% in new barrels. Some of the denser, richer wines are aged in 200% new oak, which means they are transferred to a second set of new barrels during their élevage. The end result is an amazing set of exquisite wines with tremendous complexity, elegant, supple textures, fabulous purity of aroma and fruit flavor and unbelievable length. It is an incredible experience to visit the cellars and share his passion for his children. He divides his wines up into several categories. First, he makes some lovely Bourgogne Passetoutgrains and Bourgogne Rouge. The Category of Cuvées Tradition is for wines that are a bit lighter and did not quite make the grade to be included in the Grande Cuvées. They are less expensive, but still are very high quality and represent excellent value. The Grande Cuvées are village wines from ancient vineyards that have the intensity of flavors and the expression of terroir that Dominique looks for. Likewise, the 1er crus and Grands Crus are specially selected lots from ancient vines. Reviews From the International Wine Cellar (Mar/Apr 2003): "Dominique Laurent describes 2001 as "a very classy vintage, a bit like '78 and '85 but from a growing season with a more normal climate." Laurent's best bottlings boast the creamy sweetness (many of his wines come from ancient pinot fin vines) to support their high percentage of sexy new oak-in many instances his special "magic casks," which he makes from extra-thick Troncais oak staves. And the wines, judging from my tasting of a range of Laurent's finished 2000s, are more consistent today than in prior vintages. My suppliers are doing better vinifications now than ever before. Previously, in a great year the wines were great. But in lesser vintages, some of them could be meager. Now they're much more consistent." Laurent bottled his 2000s between April and July of 2002, a bit early by his standards, and expected to bottle the 2001s between June and September of this year, possibly after carrying out an extra racking "for the big boys, the crus that start in all new oak." Few eleveurs use extended barrel aging so effectively to fill out the textures and extend the finishes of their wines: the 2000s that I tasted in blind flights against their peers in January and early February were consistently the deepest and longest wines on the table. These wines also held their fruit for days in the recorked bottles." © International Wine Cellar

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