Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru "Les Charmes" AOC 2023

The Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru "Les Charmes" 2023 carries the signature of Domaine Bruno Clair: clear, juicy fruit, fine austerity and a taut, saline line. The wine is slender in build yet deep, with silky tannin and a long mineral finish. At 13.0% vol., it stays light on its feet, vinified dry.

Les Charmes lies in the lower part of Chambolle-Musigny, on calcareous clay over a limestone subsoil. These soils give the Pinot Noir finesse and early approachability. The Domaine is based in Marsannay-la-Côte and farms 27 hectares across eight villages of the Côte d'Or, yielding 32 appellations; the parcels in Chambolle-Musigny were added in 1990. Cover cropping and forgoing herbicides have long been standard practice.

Pinot Noir, spontaneously fermented, with 20 to 50 percent whole clusters in the fermentation vat and measured extraction. Ageing lasts 18 to 20 months in barrique, with new oak making up between 20 and 50 percent. Clarification happens through time: the wines rest long enough to be bottled without correction. The sixth generation, Edouard since 2010, then Margaux and Arthur since 2018, works with higher proportions of whole clusters and less sulphur.

Red cherry, raspberry and strawberry, followed by violet, rose and a touch of undergrowth. Silky texture, vivid fruit sweetness, fine acidity, ripe tannin, long mineral finish.

Roasted pigeon or quail, veal medallions with morel sauce, coq au vin, duck breast with cherry sauce or a mushroom risotto. For cheese, aged Comté or Époisses.

Bruno Clair founded the Domaine in 1986 with seven hectares from the Clair-Daü family estate, dissolved in 1985. The wine ages for 10 to 15 years.