Description
With one foot in Burgundy and one in Alsace, the Trapet family aims to translate and pass on all the expressions of the grape and the terroir, such as the know-how transmitted to them from generation to generation. Jean-Louis, the seventh generation, joined his father Jean at the estate in 1986. He made his first cuvée entirely alone in 1990 and has run the estate since then with his wife Andrée, who took over her Alsatian family estate in 2003. While the estate is best known for its three grand crus, the quality at Domaine Trapet is outstanding up and down the hierarchy of their vineyard holdings. The vineyards have been fully farmed under biodynamic principles since 1996 and certified biodynamic since 2009.
Grape
100% Pinot Noir
Vineyard & Vinification Note
Latricières-Chambertin: 75 hectares, 1 parcel – oldest vine planted in 1938
“There are soils which are venerated in the Domaine, Les Latricières are part of them. Magnificently exposed, these” little marvels” offer the noblest and subtle essences to the fruit of our vines”
When the harvest comes in, having already been sorted in the vineyard, it is hand-sorted once more and de-stemmed to a degree dependent on the vintage.
Cold maceration of between 5 and 7 days encourages greater depth of colour and more intense aromatics without extracting too harsh tannins. Lightly crushed, there is then a long cuvaison for more gentle extraction. Fermentation is carried out in open-top vats with natural yeasts.
The wines are aged for 15 to 18 months in barrel, the proportion of new wood depending on the wine.
In the Trapets’ view, the oak’s purpose is to facilitate controlled oxidation of the young wines. The wines remain in cask for between 12 and 18 months before bottling Depending on the vintage, the wines are neither fined nor filtered. At any rate, no more than 10% would ever be filtered.
The Wine Advocate Tasting Note
The 2016 Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru, which contains 40% whole bunch fruit like the Chapelle Chambertin, has those typical traits of correctness and strictness on the nose. The black fruit feels a bit aloof and distant, but that is what you expect—this is not a Charmes-Chambertin! The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red and black fruit tinged with fig, cinnamon and baking spices, lively and tensile with real frisson toward the finish. What an outstanding Latricières from Jean-Louis, yet another great success this vintage. 94-96 Points – Neal Martin, December 2017.
Allen Meadows’ Burghound Tasting Note
This too is sufficiently reduced as to render the nose impossible to assess. Otherwise there is a significant difference in mouthfeel to the more tension-filled and delineation if less rich medium weight plus flavors that are also much more mineral-driven on the super-saline finish that is equally persistent if much more youthfully austere. While this is qualitatively similar to the Chapelle but it couldn’t be more different intrinsically. Textbook Latricières. 92-94 Points –January 2018
Food Pairing
A great partner of guinea fowl, chicken, duck, rack of lamb or a simple steak (no heavy sauces. Also good partner with cheeses (not pungent).
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