2008 Alex Gambal Chambertin

Alex Gambal is a domaine in Beaune founded in 1997 by Alex Gambal, an American. Gambal was helping run his family’s parking lot enterprise in Washington D.C. in the 1990s when he and his wife first visited France and became entranced with Burgundy and Pinot Noir. In 1993 he spent a year as an apprentice to a Beaune wine broker and in 1998 he made his first Burgundy from purchased pressed juice. In 2003 Gambal bought vineyards and now uses his own grapes to make very limited quantities of Grand Cru, Premier Cru and Bourgogne Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Gambal’s wines have routinely earned compliments from reviewers including Robert M. Parker Jr., who notes that Gambal is “producing increasingly good wines.”

Chambertin is a 32.5 acre Grand Cru vineyard in the Gevrey-Chambertin appellation. More than 25 proprietors own parcels, and some parcels are as small as about 50 square yards. The famous vineyard gets its name from a 7th century peasant, Monsieur Bertin. The name is assumed to come from the phrase “champ Bertin,” or Bertin’s field. Chambertin has an altitude that varies from 275 to 300 meters and is tucked under the Montagne de la Combe-Grisard, sheltering the site from strong winds. The soil is limestone, though there is also clay and gravel. Principal proprietors by acreage owned are Armand Rousseau, 5.38 acres; Jean and Jean-Louis Trapet, 4.75 acres; and Rossignol-Trapet, 4 acres.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.