Most of the domains in Burgundy are still family owned and quite small. On average the domains own about 6 to 8 hectares of land, producing roughly 30,000 bottles a year.
It is rare for one domain to own the whole parcel of vineyard.
When Sylvia at Domaine Rossignol-Trapet told us they started biodynamic in 1997 and finally received the certification in 2008, I wondered how they could control the quality? If the domain does not own all the vines, what if the vines next to yours are spread with chemicals?
Well they may need to give up the row next to others, but then they believe being biodynamic will give healthier fruits and could withstand disease. This also shows they are one of the larger domains in Burgundy. They own 13 hectares of land, which is almost double the average size of the domains.
Madame Sylvia Rossignol
In the cellar, Sylvia asked if we had ever tasted wines from the barrels, and she began drawing wines from the barrels. In the barrels were all the 2011 vintages from different vineyards.
Our hostess was very generous, we knew the domain produced three Grand Crus from the Gevrey-Chambertin appellation, but didn’t expect we will have a chance to taste all three from the barrels.
We started with the village level, then the premier crus and finally the 3 grand curs – Chapelle, Latricieres and Chambertin.
The 3 wines were very different in style, Chapelle was still a bit close, Latricieres was very approachable and quite spicy on the palate. Then Chambertin, their flagship wine, showed a lot of red fruit and quite powerful on the palate.
But all the 3 wines shared one characteristic; they were all very elegant with a perfect balance. We finished the wines and thought we could certainly enjoy these wines now!
Grape Wine Journey 
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