2022 Domaine Duroché Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru

The 2022 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru has a superb bouquet of perfumed iris and violet flowers with delineated red berry fruit. This blossoms in the glass. The medium-bodied palate has a sensual opening, quite plush red berry fruit and fine detail. It is quite peppery in style with a long, tender finish. Very precise - like a Swiss watch.(NM(

The 2022 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru is likely to emerge as the finest that Pierre Duroché has produced to date. Bursting from the glass with aromas of raspberries, cassis, peonies, orange zest and spices, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and complete, with a suave, seamless profile combined with unusual depth and plenitude. Pierre Duroché has produced another superlative set of wines in 2022. While yields are down after hail struck the Combe Lavaux and the Brochon side of Gevrey-Chambertin, quality is undimmed, the vintage lending itself to the domaine's understated, delicate style. As I've written before, Duroché has been experimenting with "tressage,"—rolling vines' canopies instead of trimming them—and to that end, he's pragmatically raising stakes and trellising wires, so he has the option to hedge in a rainy, disease-prone vintage (such as 2021!) but can also opt not to in sunny, warm years. In the cellar, new oak continues to make a minimal contribution, but the historic emphasis on Tonnellerie Cadus has diminished to avoid any one cooper defining the domaine style. Vinifications continue to be rather delicate, with comparatively short macerations and little in the way of pigéage. Fully renovated winery facilities, complete with a battery of made-to-measure stainless steel tanks, facilitate precision vinification. (WK)