Patrice Rion Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes 2015
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To the eye, the wine is a fairly lightly colored, but with flashes of brilliant sparkles at the edge. On the nose, aromas of cocoa and eucalyptus mingle with small red fruits and redcurrants. On the palate, its concentration doesn’t detract from its finesse, with a tannic structure that is there, but very discreet. Above all, it’s the wine’s length on both the nose and palate that characterize this delicate appellation.
Its elegance and finesse permit this win to go with more delicate meat dishes, such as roast pigeon or guinea hen, or other feathered game.
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Wine Spectator
A broad, dense style, with dusty tannins underneath wild cherry, currant and underbrush flavors. Compact and gripping on the finish, with a lingering note of sweet fruit. Best from 2022 through 2034.
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Wine & Spirits
This is a blend of two parcels, one at the base of the slope where the soil is deep clay, the other at the top of the hill where the limestone bedrock is more exposed; the vines in both average 50 years old. It’s a clean wine with an old-school feel to its delicate scents of fraise des bois and mushroom. There’s a red-apple-skin acidity that supports the lean flavors, along with a touch of Brett. This should develop well over the next five years.
The domaine currently farms 15 acres focused in the Nuits Saint Georges and Chambolle-Musigny appellations, and works with growers in other 1er Cru vineyards in the Côte de Nuits. The approach to viticulture in all vineyards is rigorous with vines that are pruned short and bud selection kept very low. The vineyards are farmed without herbicide, preferring to plow and hoe as a way to control weeds.
Patrice and Maxime do not believe that the “maximum” is the “optimum,” particularly when it comes to extracting phenolics, tannins, and color. Instead, you will find wines that maintain the freshness and minerality of Burgundian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Patrice is known for “very pure, harmonious wines, skilfully vinified,” according to Jasper Morris, MW.
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.”
Chambolle-Musigny represents the charm of the Côte de Nuits district of Burgundy. But you’ll find that term mainly in reference to the vineyards in its southern stretches, which border Clos Vougeot: the Grand Cru of Le Musingy and in part, its neighboring and most exceptional Premier Cru, Les Amoureuses. Some producers argue for the primacy of Les Amoureuses and its eligibility for Grand Cru status given its wines can sometimes surpass other Grands Crus.
Le Musigny ranks on par with the most acclaimed Grands Crus for Pinot Noir: Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Richebourg, Chambertin, and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. It is also the only Grand Cru in Côte de Nuits for Chardonnay. All of the others are in Côte de Beaune.
This village can in fact claim only two Grands Crus vineyards and—in the context of breaking down the minutiae—they are markedly different. Bonnes-Mares, the other one at the far northern end above the village, bordering Morey-St-Denis, offers power, strength and great aging potential. But Chambolle-Musigny includes a nice handful of exceptional Premiers Crus, as noted above with Les Amoureuses as the finest. Le Fuees and Les Cras are other noteworthy Premiers Crus.
Overall, a top Chambolle-Musigny offers pure aromas of violets, dark cherry and damp earth, coupled with a velvety elegance, supple mid-palate, an abundance of black and red berry, and finesse and power through a long and fine-grained finish.