Gevrey Chambertin is one of the great names of the Cotes de Nuits, with a roll-call of Grand Cru vineyards that is known the world over. The village itself is set back nearly a kilometre off the main N74 and at the centre it retains much of its historic charm. The first time we visited we did not walk round it, as darkness was beginning to fall, but we did see several restaurants, all of which looked to be very appealing. We have subsequently had at least three excellent meals at Chez Guy. Sadly and surprisingly the other elegant looking restaurant has closed down, but Chez Guy has compensated for this handsomely.

Domaine Henri Rebourseau is another of the many family Domaines, with generations of winegrowers behind them, that so typify Burgundy. This Domaine, with its magnificent holdings in and around the village of Gevrey Chambertin, is now run by M. Jean de Surrel, whose family have been vinerons in Gevrey since the mid-1800's. M. de Surrel is the great grandson of General Henri Rebourseau who, in 1919, reorganised his family's vineyards around their chateau in the centre of the village, so that they now hold a single block of Gevrey Chambetin Villages totalling 7 heactares immediately around the chateau. They also own substantial parcels of some of Gevrey's most famous Grand Crus, with 1.3 ha of Charmes, 1 ha of Mazis and just under 0.50 ha of Chambertin, as well as an important and favourably positioned parcel of Clos Vougeot extending to 2.2 ha. Although the family lives in the centre of the village, they are surrounded on two sides by their own vineyards. It is an elegant setting and they produce wines to match.

When we first met M de Surrel he went to great lengths to express his views on the individuality of each bottle of wine and how they will change not just from year to year but from tasting to tasting. With a selection of such magnificent wines as these, he is in a better position to judge this than most of us! He also stressed that with only one grape variety available to him he is looking to extract the maximum out of his terroir and the variations of nature, to give his wines their distinctive individuality. These are big wines, meant for keeping and will repay being cellared for several years. Even the village wines are closed in their youth.

The wines we list provide a snap-shot of Gevrey Chambertin, encompassing a spread of wines and vintages, from village Gevrey up to Grand Cru, taken from current vintages through to those with between 7 and 10 years of bottle age, which are beginning to approach maturity. This most unusual range of vintages makes it possible to compare wines in varying stages of their evolution. The Clos Vougeot also offers a run of five vintages to choose from.

We were allowed to sample the 2005 vintage in cask. This was still fairly tough but the fruit shone through and the uppermost thought in our minds on leaving was "roll on 2015 and a large plate of roast beef".