Domaine Claude Dugat is one of the most revered and least-publicised small estates in Gevrey-Chambertin, farming a mere 5.5 hectares across some of the village’s finest Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites with an approach of absolute minimal intervention that has made the domaine a reference point for those who follow independent artisan Gevrey-Chambertin production with the closest attention. Claude Dugat and his family produce wines of legendary low yield, great concentration and a purity of fruit character that reflects the estate’s commitment to sustainable farming, late harvesting and careful vinification without recourse to excessive extraction or new oak. The domaine’s annual production is so small that its wines are available only through a very tight allocation network and command premiums on the secondary market that reflect both the quality and the rarity of the wine.

Charmes-Chambertin is the largest of Gevrey-Chambertin’s nine Grand Crus, a 31-hectare vineyard divided into the Charmes Dessus and Charmes Dessous sub-parcels whose clay and limestone soils produce Pinot Noir of considerable depth, aromatic richness and ageing potential. Dugat’s parcel within Charmes-Chambertin is exceptionally well-sited and produces, in the hands of this estate, a wine of remarkable concentration and purity that consistently ranks among the most impressive Charmes-Chambertin produced in the appellation. The 2022 Burgundy vintage was very warm, and for a producer of Dugat’s low-yield, careful approach, this should have translated into wines of exceptional concentration and aromatic depth without the extraction or over-ripeness that the warm year could have encouraged in less carefully managed cellars.

Domaine Claude Dugat wines, including this Charmes-Chambertin, appear very rarely on the open market in any format. They are allocated primarily to long-standing clients of the domaine and a small circle of trusted importers worldwide, and their secondary market values reflect the consistent high quality and the near-impossible scarcity of the production. For collectors who have been fortunate enough to secure an allocation of the 2022 Charmes-Chambertin, this is a wine that deserves the most patient cellaring the format and resources allow.

Deep ruby with an extraordinarily pure and concentrated nose of black cherry, plum, violet, rose, spice, iron and the mineral depth of the Charmes-Chambertin clay-limestone Grand Cru terroir. Full-bodied on the palate with formidable but polished tannins, superb natural acidity and a very long, complex, mineral finish of Grand Cru authority. Best from 2030 through 2050.