Frédéric Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru 'Estournelles Saint-Jacques' 2024

The Esmonins own the lion's share of this excellent 1er cru vineyard next to Clos St. Jacques. The vineyard sits high above Lavaux Saint-Jacques, where Gevrey gains a fresher, more ethereal expression than the muscular, rustic village wines. A serious 1er Cru that drinks beautifully young and rewards a decade in the cellar.

Domaine Frédéric Esmonin, from Burgundy's Gevrey-Chambertain appellation, is a family collaboration consisting of Frederic, his father, André, and his mother, Michele. They have been farming their 10-acres of family vineyards for generations and selling their fruit to the likes of Drouhin, Jadot, and Leroy. In 1988 they began to commercialize their own labels today they are producing consistently high-quality, beautiful wines that represent a great value considering their pedigree.

Esmonin also employs gentle winemaking techniques including a new bladder-press. After a short cold maceration gives the wines an extra dimension of fruit, they are aged in carefully selected French oak barrels of Allier and Nevers forest wood made by Radoux and Berthomieu, two of the very best coopers. Wines are aged in barrels of varying age and toast and then blended in order to achieve optimum balance and complexity. The domaine ages its wines in wooden casks for between 14 to 17 months. Typically, the grand cru and Lavaut Saint-Jacques Premier Cru wines see 80 percent new oak, whereas the village-level wines are aged in 20 percent new oak. Racking only takes place when the wine is ready to be bottled (without filtration).

Critics agree that it is the balance and complexity that make Domaine Frédéric Esmonin stand out. Clive Coates, from the Cote d’Or, writes "The wines are rich in colour, virile, profound and concentrated." Likewise, Remington Norman, MW, wrote in The Great Domaines of Burgundy, "Together, André and Frédéric have propelled their Domaine into the upper échelons of Gevrey quality." Critics, too, recognize that Domaine Frédéric Esmonin is below the radar for the highest echelon of Burgundy collectors, hence the pricing is still affordable. "Of special interest here are the multiple reasonably priced Gevrey grand crus,” says Stephen Tanzer from IWC.