Domaine Trapet Père et Fils 

With vines planted as far back as 1913, Domaine Trapet has firmly established itself as one of the great traditional estates in the Burgundian village of Gevrey-Chambertin. Jean-Louis met and married Andrée, a wine grower from Alsace and together they own top vineyards in both Alsace and Burgundy. Their quality is consistent with wine cri...

With vines planted as far back as 1913, Domaine Trapet has firmly established itself as one of the great traditional estates in the Burgundian village of Gevrey-Chambertin. Jean-Louis met and married Andrée, a wine grower from Alsace and together they own top vineyards in both Alsace and Burgundy. Their quality is consistent with wine critics and lovers praising this husband and wife team as a force to be reckoned with. 

Jean-Louis Trapet has taken a departure from antiquated agricultural practices, and is recognised as one of the producers at the forefront of the biodynamic movement. Ploughing is used instead of herbicides, and Trapet has placed a strict ban on the use of any chemical insecticides.

This natural approach protects the natural quality of the clay and limestone soils. Harvest is completely manual, only the finest fruit survives the sorting process, which starts by hand in the vineyard, before a second sorting in the cellar. Up to 50% of bunches will remain intact during maceration and fermentation.

Jean-Louis’ philosophy to winemaking is wonderfully humble. He sees himself not as winemaker, but rather as a mere link in the chain between the various steps of the process: “I do not make the wine, my work is only to look after the vineyards. They do not belong to me, I am merely looking after them for my children. Hopefully I can present them with something greater than what was there before.”

We experienced this rustic approach first hand while hosting him on a recent visit to South Africa. Presenting a tasting at the Saxon hotel in Sandton, he was being checked into his suite at the hotel. The bellhop was just about to explain the operation of the TV, before Jean-Louis stopped him and said: “Don’t worry about that, we don’t have a TV.”

Jean-Louis makes wines that are focussed on fruit, expressive of the terroir and display a vigorous attention to detail.