“Domaine Berthaut Gerbet Fixin Les Crais 2018”

Description

Amélie Berthaut’s emergence as one of Burgundy’s rising stars by now needs no reiteration, but the quality of her 2017 portfolio demonstrates that the plaudits she has received are amply justified. Uniting the vineyards of the Domaines Denis Berthaut and François Gerbet, this enterprise now encompasses some 16 hectares, with Amélie’s fiancé Nicolas Faure overseeing the vineyards. The Berthaut cuvées, always excellent but decidedly sturdy and structured in their youth, are now suppler and more accessible while retaining the structure to age. The cuvées that hail from the Gerbet vineyards, which were less well farmed, are making tangible progress too, as their soils are worked and chemical treatments are reduced or eliminated—progress evident in the wines’ enhanced vitality and completeness, even in the generous 2017 vintage. With a cellar well-stocked with used barrels, Amélie’s use of oak is also increasingly judicious. In short, all the stars are aligned at this address, and readers shouldn’t hesitate to seek out the wines. And I’ll add that it would be a mistake to neglect the superb Fixins at the expense of the grander appellations from Vosne-Romanée. – William Kelley, Wine Advocate, January 2019.