Winemaker Notes
Bright ruby color. Floral aromas mixed with intense notes of ripe fruit and spices. Well-structured and complex with a long and generous finish.
Founded in 1750, Chanson is one of the five grand "shippers" of Burgundy's Côte d'Or- an estate steeped in centuries-old tradition and rich in viticultural history. As a négociant (winemaker and merchant) and a domaine (vineyard estate), Chanson has represented the best of Burgundy for more than 250 years, growing its own grapes, partnering with other growers, bottling, selling, and shipping its own wines.
Chanson's holdings comprise some of Burgundy's most coveted vineyards. Located in the heart of the Côte de Beaune (the historical center of Burgundy) and surrounded by some of the greatest vineyards in the world, Chanson can count French philosophe Voltaire, romantic poet Lamartine, and the Bonaparte family among its clients.
Its celebrated bastion, a 15th-century fortress first rented and then acquired in 1794 to cellar the wines, is an internationally celebrated icon of Burgundy (the largest of six bastions that form part of the wall surrounding the city of Beaune).
To visit Chanson is to travel back in time and experience the magic of the 1000-year-old tradition of winemaking. Chanson still vinifies and cellars its wines in the bastion as it has for over 200 years. The 10-meter thick walls of this ancient fortress make it ideal for winemaking.
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.”
Noted as the preferred wine of King Henry IV of the late 1500s—though maybe because his mistress came from here!—Givry is a top red wine-producing village in the Côte Chalonnaise.
Its firmly structured reds, made exclusively from Pinot Noir, also boast plenty of blackberry and strawberry fruit with supple tannins that benefit from about two to five years in the bottle. The robust fruit and firmness on the palate in a Givry red begs for dishes such as mixed charcuterie, braised veal, stewed poultry or roasted duck.
Typical Givry whites have a fresh bouquet of lemon, lime, white flower licorice and can benefit and become softer with age.