Winemaker Notes
Enjoy on its own or pair with game, like pheasant, poultry and all the classic cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
The cherry, raspberry and blackberry fruit leans toward the exotic side in this complex, dense red. Black olive, violet, toasty oak spice and graphite accents add interest and the finish is long and muscular. Built for the long haul. Best from 2020 through 2036.
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Jeb Dunnuck
From a monopole vineyard, the 2015 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Fèves is a structured, moderately tannic effort that’s going to benefit from cellaring. Flowers, black cherries, violets, and smoked earth all emerge from this medium-bodied 2015 that has a ripe, layered, beautifully pure profile. The tannins come out more on the palate, but they’re covered by plenty of sweet 2015 fruit at present. Give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy over the following decade. Like all the Pinots Noirs from Chanson, this cuvée wasn’t destemmed and spent 17 months in barrel.
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James Suckling
Lovely black cherry and floral notes here. But also shows serious concentration and tannic power, all very well harnessed. Moderate acidity.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a generous wine, although one that will need some serious aging. It is rich in tannins and powered by a firm structure. The fruit offers the weight to counter the tannins. It just needs time. Drink from 2024.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
While the city represents the epicenter of wine production in Burgundy, the term, “Beaune” also refers to the specific sub-appellation of the greater Côte de Beaune, whose vineyards climb up the pastoral slopes that border the city to its west. Originally founded as a Roman camp by Julius Caesar, the city of Beaune eventually became the seat of the dukes of Burgundy until the 13th century. Today it is home to top négociants such as Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour, and Bouchard Père et Fils.
The appellation, dominated by Pinot Noir plantings, represents a lovely and charming place to begin to understand red Burgundy. Its sandy soils create light and supple, floral driven Pinot Noir. These wines are designed to be enjoyed within five to 10 years. The vineyards of Beaune span a broad swath of Premier Crus from Savigny-lès-Beaune to its border with Pommard.
Chardonnay acreage here has been increasing here in the more recent years.