Vosne Romanée 1er Cru "Les Beaux Monts" Vieilles Vignes AOC 2022

A Premier Cru from Vosne-Romanée built for transparency: dark cherries, violets and a delicate smoky note over velvety depth. Bruno Clavelier says he seeks neither colour nor tannin, but transparency, finesse and pure terroir. Dry, 13.0% ABV.

The domaine occupies an unmarked, unassuming building along the main road on the edge of Vosne-Romanée and farms 6.5 hectares across Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Aloxe-Corton. Each climat is vinified separately. Most of the vines date from the 1930s and 1940s, planted by Joseph Brosson, who rebuilt the estate parcel by parcel from 1935 onward. They root deep into the limestone subsoil and naturally yield small crops.

Pure Pinot Noir, almost exclusively the traditional Burgundian Pinot Fin clone. Fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts in open, conical oak vats, with up to 30 percent whole clusters and hand punch-downs rather than mechanical extraction; malolactic fermentation follows in spring, after around three weeks. Ageing lasts 16 to 18 months in Tronçais and Allier oak barrels, only a third of them new. Neither fined nor filtered, low sulphur, bottled under protective gas.

Velvety and deep, with tannin that holds back and oak that doesn't push forward. Clarity over power.

Organic-certified since 1999, fully biodynamic since 2005. Bruno Clavelier played rugby for Dijon in France's top division before taking over his grandfather's estate in the late 1980s; the first vintage under his own name appeared in 1992. His wines are sought after by collectors worldwide.