2017 Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet, Fixin, Red Burgundy, France.
The beautiful 2017 Fixin by Amélie Berthaut at Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet is an outstanding red Burgundy with exceptional depth, a gorgeous satiny textural quality and ripe fruit pleasure, this wine certainly showcases the talent and or the skill of the winemaker from the vines to bottle guidance, this is an outstanding Pinot Noir. The palate is richly packed with pure Pinot fruit(s), plus a lingering delicate rose petal perfume that stays throughout and subtle complexities including baking spices, mineral tones, a touch of umami, fresh acidity and just the perfect amount of sweet smoky/toast. The mouth feel is top notch here and everything feels supple and opulent, it fills out wonderfully with air and has full medium bodied impact, revealing revolving layers of black cherry, raspberry, strawberry and plum fruits with a regal presence, exactly what you’d want from a Burgundy, highlighting the best qualities of this grape. If you are searching for your Burgundy Ah Ha moment in a value priced wine, then you should search out this Berthaut-Gerbet Fixin, I could defiantly get used to drinking this stuff. This dark garnet and ruby hued wine gets better and better with every sip and was impeccable with my Easter meal and drank with a flourish all on its own as well, every detail is clear and appealing in this vintage and I highly recommend keeping an eye out for this wine and or stocking up greedily on it. This basic cuvee was sourced from four parcels in small Lieu-Dits around the village of Fixin, these sites: Au Près, La Vionne, Clos du Villages, and Clos André are set on the region’s classic clay and limestone soils and have good exposures to allow even ripening and gives this wine its fruit density and lush profile. Amélie studied agro-oenology engineering in Bordeaux, then she did stints with Agnes Henry at Domaine de la Tour du Bon in Bandol and interestingly with the Dunn’s (the legendary Cabernet producer on Howell Mountain) in Napa Valley, all before moving home to Burgundy to run her own estate.

Amélie Berthaut, who started her own domaine in recent years, took over an impressive array of her family’s vineyards, these included some prestigious sites in Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, and Vosne-Romanée, as well as some fabulous parcels here in Fixin, which have become her signature wines. The vineyards that came from both her mother and father, were parts of different domaines Domaine Denis Berthaut and François Gerbet, and now they form the holdings of the newly-formed Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet. Fixin, in the Cote de Nuits, is one of the most lesser known villages, but with Amélie efforts getting such awesome attention that is likely to change and in a hurry, especially after tasting this 2017 version of her basic wine, which is absolutely delicious and thrilling example of what this obscure village can produce. The youthful Berthaut, has gone from strength to strength and is looking to improve further, and she has hired her fiancé Nicolas Faure, a talent in his own right, who has worked for the famed Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Prieuré-Roch and intriguingly under the famous Jean-Louis Chave in Hermitage, to be her vineyard manager while she focuses on the winemaking side, as well as running the business, which obviously makes sense. This is a winery to follow closely and with huge potential, but for now, it would be advisable to grab these wines before the price skyrockets. Berthaut focuses on Pinot, but does a tiny amount of Chardonnay, which is grown using mostly organic practices and lets the place and vintage dictate what she does in the cellar, she always uses native yeasts, with her primary fermentation in cement vats, but uses her best judgement on use of whole-cluster, from 0% to 100%, and how much new wood, though she limits that to 50% max, with this particular Fixin seeing between 12 and 18 months in 20% new oak. This wine way exceeds expectations and I can only imagine how good the Cru bottlings are, I’m excited to see and taste the next couple of vintages!
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

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