On a chilly December evening when darkness comes quickly, try a sure fire way to make the night a bit brighter. Enjoy a casual, relaxing meal of traditional chicken pot pie paired with a reasonably priced red burgundy wine from a good producer and a good vintage. The delicious 2108 Domaine Dubuet-Monthélie, Bourgogne-Rouge “Les Gamets” (available from Saratoga Wines for $34.74) makes a perfect choice for the wine.
The pot pie’s delicious combination of flaky crust, succulent morsels of chicken, and tender carrots and peas in a savory velouté gravy offers reassuring warm comfort. Meanwhile the wine’s pure, dark red fruitiness and lively freshness add contrast to enhance the pleasure.
Experiencing this kind of food and wine pairing nourishes both body and soul. And the tasty 2108 Domaine Dubuet-Monthélie, Bourgogne-Rouge “Les Gamets” highlights another point. In a good vintage, a dedicated Burgundy winegrower such as David Dubuet can over-deliver quality and value even when working in a modest vineyard.
A DEDICATED WORKER IN THE VILLAGE OF MONTHÉLIE
Dubuet (pictured above in the domaine’s cellar) takes a hands-on approach working in the vines. When I visited the domaine in the village of Monthélie, Dubuet pulled up into the little walled courtyard riding atop his tall, yet narrow tractor. He arrived direct from chores in the vineyards. After a quick change from work overalls, the laid-back, yet engaging Dubuet led the way to the cellar where the domaine ages its wines. There he poured wines and discussed his métier as a sixth generation vigneron.
David oversees Domaine Dubuet-Monthélie‘s holdings of approximately 20 acres of vineyards. The family painstakingly assembled the sites over 200 years. The vines grow in various parcels spread across the villages of Meursault, Beaune, Auxey-Duresses, Pernand-Vergelesses and, of course, the home village of Monthélie.
Monthélie sits atop a hill wedged between its more renown neighbors of Volnay and Meursault. Only the occasional tractor disturbs the village’s tranquil, narrow streets lined with traditional, stone houses. Today 162 souls call Monthélie home. Amid the hustle of modern life, it remains an agricultural winegrowing village where, as wine writer Clive Coates, MW observes in “The Wines of Burgundy” (2008), “If you don’t make wine or work in the vineyards, it’s because you are not yet old enough or because you’ve done your stint and are now en retraite.”
Working along side his father Guy, David Dubuet grew up steeped in Monthélie‘s winegrowing culture. He carries on dedicated, labor-intensive work with a lutte raisonée (i.e., “reasoned struggle”) approach in the vineyards. Dubuet applies neither chemical pesticides nor chemical herbicides. Instead he plows the soils with the tractor. The vines receive fungicides only sparingly when necessary to save the fruit from ravaging mildew and oidium. Dubuet isn’t afraid to take risks to maintain vital soils and vigorous vines producing quality grapes.
In addition, early every year Dubuet works precisely on each vine. He removes excess buds to reduce the eventual yield of grapes. All the hard, exacting work leads toward fermenting only fully-ripened, clean grapes. His goal is to achieve wines with complex aromas, pure fruit flavors and well-balanced concentration from each of his appellations.
2018 DOMAINE DUBUET-MONTHÉLIE, BOURGOGNE ROUGE “LES GAMETS”
The 2108 Domaine Dubuet-Monthélie, Bourgogne-Rouge “Les Gamets” hits the mark admirably. Dubuet uses pinot noir grapes from a well-placed lieu-dit —literally a place-named vineyard—called “Les Gamets.” The vineyard lies below Monthélie near a big bend in the busy autoroute D973 running westward towards Auxey-Duresses and Nolay. Part of “Les Gamets” vines fall in the Monthélie appellation itself. The remaining vines fall in the Bourgogne-régionale category which is where you find Dubuet’s vines.
Even at the lower elevation, the site’s limestone and clay soils drain reasonably well. Dubuet’s plot also has old vines averaging between 50 and 60 years old. The soils and older vines contribute to lowering yields naturally. The vineyard produces fewer grapes with more concentrated flavors. This enhances quality especially for wines from modest vineyards such as “Les Gamets.”
In 2018, a rainy Winter and cool Spring preceded a generally hot and dry Summer. By all accounts, quality and quantities both were high especially for red wines. Picking at just the right moment was essential to avoid having over ripened fruit. Clearly Dubuet made the right call considering his wine’s beautifully balanced flavors.
After harvesting the grapes by hand, Dubuet relied on a traditional, patient fermentation. Then the new wine matured for fifteen months in traditional, three year-old French oak barrels. This softened and rounded the wine without imparting more astringent tannins from new oak barrels.
In the glass, the wine’s dark ruby color unfolds ripe dark red fruit aromas with enticing, subtle smoky notes. On the palate, pure dark cherry and ripe strawberry flavors balance with plenty of lively freshness and fine tannins. The wine has medium concentration so it can be enjoyed without additional cellar aging. Ideally decant it for an hour or two before serving.
Even at the Bourgogne-régionale level, the 2108 Domaine Dubuet-Monthélie, Bourgogne-Rouge “Les Gamets” delivers a well-made, top quality red burgundy for the price. It’s a delicious wine truly reflecting David Dubuet’s hard work and attention to details.
Now where’s that chicken pot pie? Cheers!
