Domaine Rossignol-Trapet, Gevrey-Chamberin, 1er Cru, Petite Chapelle

On a very windy day (apologies for the poor sound quality) Nicolas Rossignol speaks about Gevrey-Chambertin, 1er Cru Petite Chapelle. Petite Chapelle, also called Champitonois, has deep, sticky clay soil. Nicolas Rossignol remarks that you do not have to extract too much as the tannins are quite strong and at Rossignol-Trapet the focus is on elegance, so they are careful. The soil is cold, but not the site. It does well in drier seasons such as 2015 as the clay retains moisture and is quite a warm site so usually ripens well. They are experimenting with nets as protection against hail, on half of the vines. Half remain without to evaluate the effect on the ripening. The nets cost about E20,000 per hectare, but it is an investment worth having. The nets are rolled up in the film (taken in March) but will be unfurled in April when the first buds appear.