When visiting Domaine Gerard Raphet, you have to "work your way up" from the simpler but very elegant village wines in Moret-Saint-Denis and Gevrey-Chambertins along the excellent Premier Crus to the Grand Crus. Domaine Raphet has an impressive total of four Grand Cru: Clos de Vougeot, Clos de la Roche, Charmes-Chambertin and Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze. One wine is better than the other. The ultimate taste explosion takes place when you try the Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze...like in the 9th Symphony of Beethoven, when the choir sings "Freude schöner Götterfunken". Beethoven was likely inspired by a glass of Gerard Raphet, or even slightly drunk, when composing the 9th, who knows...
We love these wines because of their fruit, their endurance on the palate and their loyalty to the terroir, which the Raphet family has been working on for generations. They are classic, beautiful wines that will also age very well due to their balance and purity. Unfortunately very limited. We only get 12 bottles of many wines. The Raphets also only have 1-2 barrels of these drops of gold. You can't blame them for only offering us small quantities. Domaine Gerard Raphet evokes the most emotions of all our Burgundian red wine producers. It shows the possibilities of what big, old Burgundy wines can do and how intimate this experience can be. Try it out if you can get a bottle.
