Three Gevrey-Chambertin Grands Crus, honestly compared
Grand Cru Burgundy is the most intimidating purchase in wine. There are only thirty-three of them for red wine, the labels are near-identical to the untrained eye, and the price gap between a very good bottle and a transcendent one is measured in hundreds of dollars with almost nothing on the label to explain it. All three bottles here come from Gevrey-Chambertin, the commune with more Grands Crus than any other, which lets us hold the village constant and ask a narrower question: what does the vineyard itself change? One is from the hill's undisputed summit. Two are from the same vineyard, Charmes-Chambertin, made by different hands in different vintages — which turns out to be the more instructive comparison of the two.
Pinot Noir • $265
Charmes is the most approachable of the Chambertin Grands Crus, and the generous 2022 vintage leans into that. Ripe red fruits and black cherry lifted by spice and floral nuance, with tannins polished to near-invisibility. This is luxury Burgundy you do not have to wait a decade to enjoy — the entry point to the category, and no less serious for it.
Pinot Noir • $325
The same vineyard as above, a different domaine and a cooler vintage, and the wine is transformed. Crushed rose petals, violets and wild strawberries laced with vanilla from 80% new oak. The texture is the point: silken, almost oily, lush tannins carrying concentrated red fruit. That weightless-yet-deep sensation is precisely what people chase in Grand Cru Burgundy, and at $325 this is the cheapest place on our list to find it.
Pinot Noir • $495
Clos de Bèze is one of the two or three greatest red vineyards in Burgundy, and 2019 is a benchmark vintage for it. Red cherries and crushed strawberries deepen into oriental spice and black truffle over an hour in the glass. It is massive and concentrated for Pinot Noir yet the tannins stay silky and the acidity vivid — power and elegance in an equilibrium the other two, for all their quality, do not quite reach.
The lesson of this flight is that the vineyard sets the ceiling and the producer decides how close you get to it. The two Charmes-Chambertins share a plot of land and taste meaningfully different. If you want to learn what Grand Cru means without spending $500, the Henri Rebourseau is the most instructive bottle here. If you want the ceiling itself, the Clos de Bèze is one of the few wines that justifies its price by being genuinely difficult to replicate.
Get our top pick — Domaine Faiveley Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru 2019 · $495Affiliate Disclosure: We may earn a commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you.
The background on what is in these bottles.