2009 Dupont-Tisserandot Charmes-Chambertin

Domaine Dupont-Tisserandot is a 50-acre estate in Gevrey-Chambertin that was founded in 1954 when Bernard Dupont married Gisele Tisserandot, whose family owned land. In the late 1990s the couple’s daughter Patricia and her husband Didier Chevillon took over management. Clive Coates has written that Patricia and Didier made many improvements in the cellars and in the vineyards, and significantly improved the wines. The estate has Grand Cru parcels in Charmes-Chambertin and Mazis-Chambertin, as well as Premier Crus and AOC wines. In 2013 the estate was sold to Domaine Faiveley, and Didier Chevillon retired.

Charmes-Chambertin is a 78-acre Grand Cru vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin that traditionally includes the acreage of nearby Mazoyeres-Chambertin. For nearly 200 years the growers of Mazoyeres have been legally allowed to sell their wines under the more famous name of Charmes-Chambertin, and virtually all of them do. Charmes-Chambertin is the largest of the Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Crus, and it generally has an excellent reputation. The slope of the vineyard is gentle and the surface soil poor. But producers including Joseph Roty, Christian Serafin, Domaine Dujac, Faiveley and Joseph Drouhin are acclaimed for their Charmes Chambertin. Principal landholders are Camus, with 14.75 acres; Perrot-Minot, 4 acres; and Armand Rousseau, 3.5 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.