Domaine Odoul-Coquard Gevrey-Chambertin 2020

Domaine Odoul-Coquard sits at the northern end of Morey-Saint-Denis, the first house on the Route des Grands Crus as you arrive from Gevrey-Chambertin — which makes the village Gevrey feel almost like a home wine. The cuvée is assembled from three parcels: two in Les Seuvrées and one in En Déree, with vines planted in 1980 and an average production of 12 barrels per vintage — the wine spending one year in third-use barrels, an élevage of deliberate restraint that keeps the oak entirely in the background. Sébastien Odoul trained at Domaine Dujac and Domaine Denis Mortet before returning to the family estate, bringing with him a sensibility that Bill Nanson of the Burgundy Report rated among the top ten new wave Burgundy producers — and Clive Coates described the domaine simply as "an address to note... the wines are very good indeed." 

Very expressive on the nose — sappy and plump with black cherry and just a hint of rhubarb mixed with baking spices, with a hint of chewy tannin on a rather lengthy finish. A fruity, slightly spicy wine with soft tannins and good ageing potential — classic Gevrey character without the appellation's sometimes intimidating austerity, the old-vine fruit from Les Seuvrées giving the wine a depth and persistence that village Gevrey does not always deliver. For those coming to Odoul-Coquard for the first time, this is the natural entry point — and one that invariably prompts the question of what sits further up the range.