Rapet makes my style of Burgundy.
They are stony and unadorned wines, direct and full of charm.
The 2017 Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc Les Combottes is a perfect summary of what I find so compelling about the wines. At $35.95 in 4-packs, it's one of the best deals you will find in the great 2017 white Burgundy vintage.
For some time, Rapet has been held in high esteem in France. Slowly, their reputation has increased in the U.S. Without a doubt, the 2017s will cause many more people to take notice.
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The domaine goes back to 1765, but a transformation began in 1991 when Vincent Rapet joined his father, Roland. The wines have been improving by leaps and bounds. The 2017s represent a major leap in quality.
We've been working with the wines for the past couple of vintages, but the 2017 Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc Les Combottes was so impressive that it demanded an offering.
The Combottes comes from a steep, southwest-facing vineyard with such a high portion of limestone that the soils are white. In any vintage, the wine has a very distinctive chalky minerality. The 2017 has a minerality that is taut and blazes across the palate.
What makes the 2017 Combottes so impressive is its brightness and honesty. Please don't mistake "honesty" for rusticity. The wine has plenty of finesse. There's just an unembellished directness to it. It's very compelling. You get shavings of citrus, floral notes, and gently ripe stone fruits.
I strongly advise you to pick up at least a 4-pack. At this pricing, it's a wine that you'll want to return to again and again. Villages level wines this good, and this interesting are rarely encountered at this price. Don't miss.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
2017 Rapet Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc
Les Combottes
Special Bottle Price: $39.95
View From The Cellar: "The 2017 les Combottes from Vincent Rapet is a really stylish example of the vintage, offering up a precise and beautifully floral bouquet of apple, pear, fruit blossoms, chalky soil tones, a discreet foundation of vanillin oak, beeswax and a hint of acacia blossom in the upper register. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied and beautifully soil-driven, with a lovely core of pure fruit, bright, zesty acids and excellent length and grip on the nascently complex finish. This is a very good bottle in the making, that today, is just a touch reserved (though very easy to drink with a bit of decanting), but which should be hitting on all cylinders with just a year or two in the cellar.."
Special 4-Pack Price: $143.80 ($35.95/btl)