Winemaker Notes
The commune of Chambolle-Musigny lies just north of Vougeot and south of Morey-Saint-Denis on two steep slopes at either end of the commune which rise above the village of Chambolle in the valley between them. Its vineyards occupy 423 acres, 223 of which produce Chambolle's village wines, and an additional 150 acres divided among 24 premiers crus. The remaining 40 acres are in the commune's two grands crus: Le Musigny, at the southern extremity, and Bonnes-Mares, at the northern extremity, a small part of which spills into Morey-Saint-Denis.
Chambolle-Musigny is unique in the Côte de Nuits for the chalky composition of its soils (unlike the clay soils relevant elsewhere). The thin, calcareous layer clings to a hard rocky soil beneath, which stresses the vines and sharply restricts their yield; village and premier cru production is less than 15 hectolitres (5,625 gallons) per hectare, one-third of the legal maximum. But these soils are responsible for Chambolle-Musigny's exceptional delicacy and a character possessed by no other wine of the Côte de Nuits.
Professional Ratings
Celebrated as some of the best wine in the universe, red wine from Burgundy, otherwise known as red Burgundy, is Pinot noir. In fact Burgundy is the birthplace of Pinot noir and the source of the planet’s most sensual, delicate, valuable and sought-after Pinot noir wines.
Understanding and enjoying red Burgundy can stay simple, with a basic knowledge of its subregions, become more intricate by dialing down to the villages and vineyards or become a life-long passion, exploring climats (plots of vines), vintages and the post French Revolution land ownership laws. In any case, a fine red Burgundy will display refined nuances of black currant, red fruit, earth, spice, alluring floral aromatics and have great elegance, complexity and longevity.
Most famous, praised and collected of Burgunday are those from the Côte d'Or. Hundreds of millions of years ago, the area now called Côte d'Or was under a warm ocean whose sea floor has, over time, shifted and decomposed into various layers of limestone, sandstone and clay interspersed with ancient fossilized sea creatures. This is what is referred to as the famous escarpment upon which all of the highly sought-after Grands Crus and Premiers Crus vineyards can be found. In other words, from north to south, the best vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Flagey-Echezeaux, Nuits-St-Georges, Aloxe-Corton, Pommard and Volnay follow the path of this ancient sea bed.