2018 Domaine Bruno Clair Barrel Tasting with Philippe Brun

Domaine Bruno Clair is one of my favourite houses in all of Burgundy.

I like the modest, understated, workman-like manner at the winery. Typically, Bruno Clair wines are made sympathetically with a minimum of intervention, to accentuate, for each wine, the expression of vintage and place.

And they have some great, and very interesting, climats over the top three levels of the hierarchy.

The "big three" wines at Clair - the last of the wines we tasted - were all among the best wines tasted on the entire Italian and French trip. Between the three of us there was a lively debate - and no agreement - as to which of the three was the very best.

We tasted exclusively 2017 reds, from barrel. All of the barrels had completed malo, Philippe Brun noted.

When we arrived, trying to get a fix on the 2017 red vintage, I asked if Philippe if his 2017s were like say Clair's 2007s or 2000s? "No …", Philippe replied, looking a bit surprised by my suggestion, "no … more like ... 2002s".

That sounded pretty good, and was resoundingly confirmed by the tasting. A brilliant set of wines …

• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Marsannay Les Vaudenelles

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Marsannay

  An attractive, vibrant nose of raspberry, red currant and cranberry. A palate packed full full of bright, crunchy red berry fruit. For early drinking. A great everyday drinker.

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Marsannay les Grasses Têtes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Marsannay

  From a 2 ha vineyard. A nose of mixed spices, red cherries, red currants and flint. In the mouth, more substance and weight than the Les Vaudenelles. Also, more serious and tannic. "Clay in the soil", said Philippe, "a wine to cellar".

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Marsannay Les Longeroies

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Marsannay

  Philippe predicted that this Villages vineyard would one day be accepted for 1er status. A darker nose: blackcurrants, dark cherries and some black plums. A finer, more precise and linear wine to drink. Dark fruited with graphite minerality and some savouriness. Decent length. "Drink within 5-10 years", said Philippe. My favourite of the three Marsannays.

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambolle-Musigny Les Véroilles

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

  This is a favourite climat of mine, high on the hill above and to the north of the village of Chambolle-Musigny. As is often the case, the Véroilles presents a breezy, airy bouquet. Perfumed with red cherries, wild strawberries, wet limestone and gentle meadow flower fragrance. On palate, focussed and refined. Lighter bodied. Quite racy. Red fruited. Spherical tannins. Good length. A very good Villages.

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Morey St. Denis En la Rue de Vergy

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis

  "My petite Bonnes Mares", said Philippe. From a vineyard close to Chambolle-Musigny. On bouquet, the florality and spiciness of a Chambolle, the earthiness and funk of a Morey. Also, largely red berry fruit and damp and dry underbrush. On palate, red fruit, earth and dry brushwood. Good drive and fruit volume for this level.

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

  With fruit from 1er sites - like Petit Fonteny and Bel Air - with too little yield to make a 1er said Philippe. A nose of earth, brushwood, cherries and a little Gevrey animale. On palate, a little blood and fur. Less elegant and refined than most of the wines to date. Not rustic but earthy, mineral and a little meaty. A good Villages for relatively immediate drinking (but it would cellar medium term).

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Vosne-Romanée Les Champs Perdrix

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée

  Very pretty perfumes of violets and other dark florals, blackberries, black cherries and other dark fruit, with a little mixed spices. Much more serious on palate. Silky but structured and quite closed. Great line and length to it. Classy. "Keep it for 10 years", said Philippe.

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru

  Vines 115 years old. Only two barrels of this cuvée made. Blackberry, dark cherry, wet earth and underbrush, wet slate and river boulder on the bouquet. On palate, energetic and focussed. Dark fruited, dry leaf flavours, reflecting the bouquet. Earthy and rocky mineral. Real persistence and serious matière. A good wine to cellar for 5-7+ years.

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos du Fonteny

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  A monopole. Limestone soil, noted Philippe. Bright, expressive, dark fruited perfumes, with minerals and earth. Andrew noted a touch of citrus. In the mouth, real weight and power. A tensile mineral core. Precise with relatively racy acidity. Very good. "Structure with finesse", said Philippe.

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  A noticeably bright, vibrant ruby colour in the glass. A complex bouquet of red cherry, raspberry and red plum, earth and chalky minerals, with a little Gevrey funk. Pure, rounded red fruit on palate. Dense and powerful. Juicy and sappy. Well structured. Good acidity. Very Gevrey. A long, mineral finish. Excellent. A great entrée to the final three wines.

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru

  As good as the Cazetiers is, this is - to me - a big step up in quality. A profound, powerful, complex bouquet of red cherries - with some 'under spirit' - raspberries, red currants and red plums, wet chalk and crushed rocks. The best bouquet in the line up. Detailed and complex on palate. More dark fruited than red with earth, minerals and dry brushwood. Beautiful, polished tannins. Precise acidity. Great length. One of the wines of the trip but - for me - only third of the last three. Mark's wine of the tasting.

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  Not quite the exuberant bouquet of the Clos St. Jacques, but still beautiful. Red berry compote, rose florals, earthy and spicy perfumes, with a touch of something more sauvage and wild. A sweet seeming entry of red berry fruit. Fine and laser focussed linear. Seamless and satiny across the mid palate. The power really kicks in on the back palate, as it expands dramatically on the finish. All class. Relatively accessible straight from the barrel but it will open up considerably over the next 7-10 years, I'd expect. One of the wines of the trip.

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• 2017 Domaine Bruno Clair Bonnes Mares

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

  An unusual Bonnes Mares because it's on the Clos des Tart wall. Philippe jokingly refers to it as their "Morey St. Denis" monopole. There is however a serious point to this because it is on the white soil - "terres blanches" - not the red soil more common at the Chambolle end. Here there is another attractive - but, in this case, also quite restrained - bouquet of red cherry and red berries and plums, minerals, spicy wood tannins and florals. In the mouth, ultra-fine and silky. Looking beneath the svelte, seamless exterior though there is serious tannic structure. Persistent with plenty of drive. The proverbial iron fist in the velvet glove. "Muscular", said Philippe. "Incredible", stated Andrew. A serious and profound wine, presently pretty taut and coiled. A long mineral dry finish. One of the best wines tasted on the trip. My wine of the tasting.

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