Frederic Magnien Chablis Premier Cru Mont de Milieu 2012
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Born in May 1969, in one of the most beautiful wine growing regions in the world, Frederic Magnien is a 5th generation winemaker from the Magnien family. He studied at the viticultural Lycee (high school) in Beaune, while helping his father in the vineyards and cellars in his spare time.
In September 1995, he made one of the most important decisions of his life; he set up a Maison de Negoce (wine trading house) under his own name.
His objective is to distinguish the work of a "wine producer" from that of a "winemaker": Frederic Magnien does not own vines but plays an important consultancy role with the wine growers with whom he works closely throughout the year. This enables him to select plots of mainly old vines (over 40 years of age) and to buy very high quality grapes, at optimum maturity, from among the noblest of the Cote de Nuits appellations.
He can then, at the vinification stage and using identical casks and aging, explore the aromatic diversity of the Cote de Nuits terroirs, building on the dedicated work of the wine grower.
The House of Frederic Magnien started off in 1995 with 21 barrels containing 5 appellations and by 2011 could claim 1000 barrels.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The source of the most racy, light and tactile, yet uniquely complex Chardonnay, Chablis, while considered part of Burgundy, actually reaches far past the most northern stretch of the Côte d’Or proper. Its vineyards cover hillsides surrounding the small village of Chablis about 100 miles north of Dijon, making it actually closer to Champagne than to Burgundy. Champagne and Chablis have a unique soil type in common called Kimmeridgian, which isn’t found anywhere else in the world except southern England. A 180 million year-old geologic formation of decomposed clay and limestone, containing tiny fossilized oyster shells, spans from the Dorset village of Kimmeridge in southern England all the way down through Champagne, and to the soils of Chablis. This soil type produces wines full of structure, austerity, minerality, salinity and finesse.
Chablis Grands Crus vineyards are all located at ideal elevations and exposition on the acclaimed Kimmeridgian soil, an ancient clay-limestone soil that lends intensity and finesse to its wines. The vineyards outside of Grands Crus are Premiers Crus, and outlying from those is Petit Chablis. Chablis Grand Cru, as well as most Premier Cru Chablis, can age for many years.