WINE > Burguet, Gevrey-Chambertin "Symphonie", 2019 (18/20)

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There are Gevrey-Chambertin producers who chase power for its own sake, and there are those who chase precision instead. Jean-Luc & Eric Burguet belong unmistakably to the second camp. The “Symphonie” is the domaine’s village-level flagship, a blend drawn from several small parcels — including En Billard and La Justice — planted on clay-limestone soils with an average vine age of around 40 years. The 2019 vintage is a particularly generous expression of the house style: ripe, dark-fruited and structurally serious, but never heavy-handed.

The domaine itself carries real Gevrey pedigree. Founded from nothing by Alain Burguet in 1974, it passed to sons Jean-Luc and Eric through the 2011 vintage, with Jean-Luc taking sole charge from 2022. The 2019 “Symphonie” was made while both brothers were still working the cellar together, and it shows the confidence of a domaine fully in command of its terroir.

APPEARANCE >

Deep, saturated ruby with a faint garnet edge developing at the rim, a colour that already signals concentration rather than the paler, more translucent style some village Gevrey wines show. Seven years on from harvest, there is no browning to speak of; this is a wine built for the medium term rather than early drinking.

NOSE >

The bouquet is properly black-fruited for the vintage: black cherry, plum and a touch of dark chocolate, layered with grilled meat, woodsmoke and a base note of turned soil. New oak is present but well judged, framing the fruit rather than dominating it, and with air the nose gains a faintly savoury, forest-floor complexity typical of well-sited Gevrey-Chambertin.

LENGTH >

On the palate this is pure, full-bodied and already remarkably complex for a village wine, with a plush, velvety attack that belies its structure. The tannins are firm but buried under the fruit, giving the wine a suave, almost silky texture through the mid-palate. The finish is long, layered and well balanced, closing on savoury spice and lingering dark fruit rather than drying out — a hallmark of the warm, low-yield 2019 vintage.

PAIRING >

This wants dishes with some weight and char to match its ripeness. A properly rested roast duck breast, coq au vin, or a simple entrecôte with bordelaise sauce would all sit comfortably alongside it. For something more contemplative, try it with a mushroom and truffle risotto or a well-aged Comté, both of which will pick up on the wine’s earthy, savoury undertones. Serve at 16–17°C and give it a decant if drinking now.

VINTAGE >

2019 in Burgundy was a warm, dry growing season shaped by spring frost and a hot, dry summer, which cut yields significantly but concentrated flavour in the fruit that remained. The result across the Côte de Nuits was a run of wines with ripe tannins, good natural acidity and real ageing potential — a description that fits the Burguet “Symphonie” closely.

The Burguet style has long been associated with a firm, structured, distinctly “old Gevrey” character, a reputation built by Alain Burguet over four decades before his sons took the reins. It is worth noting that Eric Burguet stepped back from day-to-day involvement in 2023, with Jean-Luc now leading the domaine alongside cellar hand Reynald Marin. That succession makes bottles from the Jean-Luc & Eric era, like this 2019, a useful marker of the domaine’s transitional years — still very much the family style, but with a new generation’s hand increasingly visible in the glass.

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