Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru "La Combe d'Orveaux" AOC 2022

"I'm not looking for colour or tannin," says Bruno Clavelier. His Chambolle-Musigny from the climat La Combe d'Orveaux shows exactly that: floral elegance, silky texture and a clarity that lets the winemaker disappear behind the origin. The former first-division rugby player now works with crystalline precision rather than force.

The domaine farms 6.5 hectares in Burgundy's most prestigious sites, working from an unassuming building on the route nationale at the edge of Vosne-Romanée. The vines of La Combe d'Orveaux root deep into calcareous subsoil. Most of the domaine's vines were planted in the 1930s and 1940s; the oldest are now over 80 years old and naturally yield small crops.

Pure Pinot Noir, specifically Pinot Noir Fin, the traditional Burgundian clone. Fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts in open, conical oak vats, with up to 30 percent whole clusters depending on the vintage and parcel; the cap is punched down by hand. After around three weeks of fermentation and malolactic fermentation in spring, the wine spends 16 to 18 months in barrels from Tronçais and Allier, only a third of them new. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered, with minimal sulphur and under protective gas.

Finely structured and layered, with red berry fruit, floral nuances and a cool mineral note. 13.0% vol., dry.

With roast quail, duck breast cooked pink, saddle of venison or pheasant with morels. Also with morel risotto and cheeses such as Saint-Nectaire or a mildly aged cheddar.

All wines from the domaine carry the designation "Vieilles Vignes". The estate has been organic-certified since 1999 and has worked fully biodynamically since 2005; each climat is vinified separately.