Frédéric Esmonin : Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand cru 2024

Characteristics and tasting notes for the 2024 Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru by Frédéric Esmonin

Tasting

Colour
A deep ruby hue verging on black cherry, with beautiful clarity and remarkable brilliance that reflect fine concentration.

Nose
The aromatic bouquet reveals fine intensity around black fruits such as blackberry, plum and cherry. This fruity backbone intertwines with mineral and graphite notes. With aeration, delicate floral touches reminiscent of violet and dried flowers emerge.

Palate
The attack offers fine freshness carried by an elegant acidic tension. The mid-palate proves rich and deep, balancing the concentration of black fruits with a pronounced minerality. The tannins are firm and refined, leading to a finish of great persistence with earthy and mineral accents.

Food and wine pairing

This red wine pairs wonderfully with earthy dishes, particularly wild mushrooms such as porcini or chanterelles. It also enhances characterful meats such as beef bourguignon, game like duck or venison, as well as mature regional cheeses such as Époisses.

Service and storage

For tasting in its youth, it is recommended to decant this 2024 Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru for two to four hours. Built to age, it will begin to fully open up in five to eight years and can be cellared until around 2044.

The mineral elegance of a Gevrey-Chambertin grand cru

The estate

Located in the heart of Gevrey-Chambertin in Burgundy, the estate was officially founded in 1988 when Frédéric Esmonin, then a wine merchant, took over the family land. Still at the helm of the estate today, he cultivates a vineyard of around four and a half hectares spread across prestigious terroirs. Highly sought after internationally, the estate stands out for its philosophy of respect for living organisms. Frédéric Esmonin makes it a point of honour to revitalise the soils through regular ploughing and natural amendments, thereby fostering the authentic expression of each plot.

The vineyard

The Ruchottes-Chambertin plot is located on the northern part of the commune, on shallow, extremely stony soils. Composed of oolitic limestone dating from the Bathonian era, this poor terroir forces the vines to draw deeply on their resources. This natural constraint, combined with a slope offering excellent exposure, limits yields but promotes unique phenolic concentration and mineral expression. Natural cover crops are favoured between the rows to preserve the ecosystem.

The vintage

The year was marked by particularly capricious weather conditions across France. After a mild winter, early budbreak in early April was followed by cool and very wet months from May to July. The flowering period in June suffered a drop in temperatures, causing coulure and drastically reducing yields. Despite these challenges and a harvest pushed back to late September, the grapes benefited from a fine end to the growing cycle, offering exceptional sugar concentration and preserved acidity.

Winemaking and ageing

The grapes are hand-harvested by a loyal team, then rigorously sorted before being fully destemmed. A four- to five-day cold maceration precedes a spontaneous fermentation triggered by indigenous yeasts. This 2024 Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru is then aged in oak barrels, 66% of which are new, for fourteen to sixteen months, refining the structure while respecting the identity of the terroir.

Grape variety

100% Pinot Noir.