Bright medium red. Musky soil tones, smoky minerality, coffee and black pepper on the nose, all lifted by a perfumed floral quality. Tart cranberry and raspberry flavors are complemented by saline minerality, with strong acidity accentuating the impression of inner-mouth tension. Not especially fleshy or broad but boasts terrific energy. The wine's firm tannic spine and strong minerality call for patience. Very 2013 in style.

Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Bel-Air has a loose-knit, open bouquet, "airy" in style and needing more fruité to come through with bottle age. There is a floral aspect here, rose petals and a touch of iris. The palate is medium-bodied with supple red cherries and strawberry fruit, a pleasant grip in the mouth, the finish more "solid" than the aromatics at the moment. Quite steely in texture, there is just a touch of reduction here that will dissipate with time in bottle. I just feel it has lost some of its chutzpah that it showed in barrel, but it is still a decent Gevrey premier cru for the vintage. Tasted September 2016.

From the vineyard just above Clos de Bèze. Seductive nose. Dried orange-peel nose. Lots there. Rich and only medium weight but great intensity and balance. A little dry on the end. (JR)