Address
316 West Geer St, Suite A, Durham, NC 27701
Hours
Mon. Closed
Tue. - Thu. 11am - 9pm
Fri. & Sat. 11am - 10pm
Sun. 11am - 8pm
Downtown Durham's neighborhood bottle shop and wine bar offering curbside pickup, local delivery, and shipping to 43 states.
Free Delivery in Durham & Chapel Hill
with a $120 Minimum Order.
Raleigh, Cary, Hillsborough and Surrounding
zip codes minimum $200.
We cannot ship to ND, SD, NH, UT, MS, PA, or KY. email info@louelladurham.com for shipping options
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru “La Perriere”
The first stop on Harmand-Geoffroy’s tour of Gevrey premier crus, “La Perriere” is nestled just below grand cru Mazis-Chambertin on the slope, immediately north of the premier cru section of “Clos Prieur.” The family owns a third of a hectare of 50-year-old vines here, which typically yield a chiseled wine of great finesse. Indeed, the 2015 shows a markedly cool personality for the vintage, with a lifted impression of menthol and exotic spices on the nose, and a driving, red-fruit-dominated palate. 40% new oak.
Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru La Perriere: This premier cru is located just beneath Mazis Chambertin in the southern tier of Gevrey, a zone which typically provides wines of finesse that are graced by silky tannins. Here, we have a wine frequently marked by red fruits, rather than black; a seductive wine of excellent balance. Production is very limited as the Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy owns a mere 3/10 of a hectare; the vines are 45 years of age (as of 2011). We import 300 bottles per year for the US market.
Gevrey-Chambertin accounts for the largest surface area under vine in the entire Cote de Nuits, and it can be challenging to get a handle on its broad range of terroirs. How fortunate we at Rosenthal Wine Merchant are, then, to work with Harmand-Geoffroy—a long-established domaine whose enviable holdings lie entirely within the limits of Gevrey, yet encompass so many different iterations of its varied soils and expositions. With this offering, the opportunity to explore and understand the intricacies and delights of the wines of this vaunted terrain are before you in stark relief.
The Harmand-Geoffroy family has worked the land in Gevrey-Chambertin since the end of the 19thcentury, and today the nine-hectare domaine is undergoing a passing of the torch from father Gerard to son Philippe. Although their wines have always displayed an attractively unforced classicism—a 1993 “Clos Prieur” served blind last year was everything one could ask for in mature red Burgundy—they have made notable strides in terms of precision, balance, and expressiveness over the past five years, due in large part to improvements in their cellar work: employing better temperature control during fermentation; managing extraction with greater gentleness and sensitivity; eschewing pumping and moving the wines by gravity only; and refining their oak sources and barrel regimens. The wines today express the telltale meat-and-mineral core of Gevrey-Chambertin with a combination of robust power and an almost glowing clarity of fruit, and the widely varying terroirs are always vividly differentiated, even in the richest of vintages. The vast majority of Harmand-Geoffroy’s holdings are between 55 and 95 years of age (some are even older), and the wines offer a wonderful concentration commensurate with these extremely old, low-yielding vines. Add to that the fact that the family vineyards sweep across the entirety of the appellation from north to south thus providing a rare and breath-taking immersion into the fabled terroir of Gevrey Chambertin.
The imminently arriving 2015s offer the experience of a domaine bringing to bear their significantly improved methodology on a vintage of thrilling quality and enormous potential. Philippe judged the timing of his harvest perfectly, picking between the 5th and 11th of September—slightly early, to preserve acidity—and narrowly escaping an intense rainstorm that took place on the 12th. The fruit was in impeccable condition, although the exceedingly dry growing season resulted in thick-skinned grapes with miserly quantities of juice, resulting in an overall 20% reduction in yields. Philippe was careful not to over-extract, given the potential for such thick-skinned fruit to translate into extremely tannic wines, and indeed the 2015s from Harmand-Geoffroy are harmonious and lovely despite their richness. They are undoubtedly the greatest wines we have ever had the pleasure of purchasing from this domaine, and the wise among you will take happy advantage of their relatively open availability—a scenario which surely will not last, given the level at which Philippe is operating today.
LouElla is Downtown Durham's neighborhood bottle shop, bar, and event space offering curated wine, craft beer, and fortified selections from family operated producers. The business takes its name and mission from owner and proprietor Campbell Davis's Great Aunt LouElla who was much beloved for her warmth, hospitality, and generous spirit. Whether we are serving you at the bar or helping you pick that perfect bottle to host your celebration, our mission is to share LouElla's hospitality with the community.
Campbell Davis
Owner & Manager
For Cam Davis, LouElla is the culmination of more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality and beverage industry. Cam has successfully managed some of Durham’s finest locally and nationally recognized establishments, including Hutchin's Garage, Guglhupf, Rue Cler, and Durham Catering Company. He brings a wealth of wine and beverage knowledge, not only from his extensive restaurant experience, but also from his tenure as Durham Sales Manager for wine distributor Bordeaux, Fine and Rare.
Hours
Mon. Closed
Tue. - Thu. 11am - 9pm
Fri. & Sat. 11am - 10pm
Sun. 11am - 8pm