Visit to Domaine Bruno Clair with Philippe Brun in June 2014
Tasted Sunday, December 7, 2014 by HowardNZ with 775 views
Introduction
I am gradually adding my notes from my Burgundy trip in June 2014 to the CT database.
Thanks to Peter Maude and Carolyn Formby for arranging this visit.
Philippe, the cellar master at Domaine Bruno Clair, is a huge rugby fan. He has an expression, roughly translated, that the "third half of a rugby match is the most important". He believes in minimal intervention wine 'making', so he believes the best wine is often made if vintage coincides with a Rugby World Cup (look out for vintage 2015). "The best vintage is when you don't do anything", he said.
Bruno Clair has 22 ha in total.
We tasted his 2013 reds just post-malo.
His view of 2013 reds is similar for the 2011s. He likes them. He sees them as good drink early, restaurant wines. The harvest was about a month late (7 October), he hopes for early September for 2014. For 2013, he pulled right back on the extraction. He also fully destemmed. In a riper year, like 2010, he would typically use 20% whole bunch.
The 2013s have less phenolic maturity than the 2012s, because the grapes had to be left out so late to get ripe. Philippe also drew a parallel with 2008.
Bruno Clairs' white grapes were largely destroyed by hail, so we did not taste the wines. Philippe was frank - he is not sure what he will do with the juice he has.
In terms of 2014, so far, Philippe says it is looking like 2009 again. They are hoping it is not another 2003. However, if it was, he said they would be much better equipped now to handle it (including knowing to leave the wines on their lees longer and bottle later).
2013 Domaine Bruno Clair Marsannay
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Marsannay
The Domaine has sought 1er status for this Villages wine. Bright, clear colour. A nose of a lot of ripe, red fruit. On palate, a wine for early drinking, smooth with well integrated tannins. It is actually reasonably powerful with good poise and balance in the acids. A little below medium weight. Approachable now.
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2013 Domaine Bruno Clair Marsannay les Grasses Têtes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Marsannay
This climat is on clay. A vibrant red colour. A bouquet of red berry fruits and earth. Also, bright red berries on the palate, with savoury elements and grippy tannins. A significantly more serious wine than the last, with more power, matière and dry extract.
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2013 Domaine Bruno Clair Morey St. Denis En la Rue de Vergy
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis
This climat is on limestone. Bright red colour. Here the raspberries, strawberries and cherries are matched on the nose by chalky and mineral aromas. On palate, this is a good wine, showing a relatively complex flavour profile of those red berries and the minerals on the back of the palate. The wine has soft but fine tannins and is elegant, balanced and poised. It has more fruit weight than is first apparent.
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2013 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambolle-Musigny Les Véroilles
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
A favourite vineyard high above the village of Chambolle-Musigny. It was reticent on the nose showing some red fruit aromas. In the mouth, this seemed another good, earlier drinking wine. A fairly large scaled expression with good structure and power. Quite smooth and silky in the mouth, more red fruited and finer than most of the earlier wines.
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2013 Domaine Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos du Fonteny
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
A monopole wine. Philippe said that this vintage had a lot of millerandage and that seemed to show in the wine. An expressive, attractive nose of largely red fruit. Quite fresh on entry to the palate, with flavours of red cherries, raspberries and other red fruit. This wine with seemingly more oak than previously, but with the fruit to match it. A lot of dry extract and good concentration.
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2013 Domaine Bruno Clair Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
Two-thirds of the vines are from 1912. In 2013 the vineyard yielded 30 hectolitres per ha, which was a good yield. Philippe said that there was little need for sorting of the grapes as the fruit was very clean. Fifteen barrels were produced in 2013. Good bright garnet. On bouquet, spice and red fruit aromas, particularly of raspberries and red plums. On palate, this has everything you look for at this stage of development, good depth and fruit weight, fine grained tannins and the elements relatively well integrated. This should be an excellent wine. Philippe said that the elevage will be important for this wine. He will leave it on the lees to put on more matière.
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2013 Domaine Bruno Clair Bonnes Mares
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
This vineyard is by the Clos de Tart wall. The colour was bright red. Again a nose of bright, expressive red fruit, particularly raspberry and cranberry. This wine combines power with elegance. One of the best wines of the tasting. Seamless integration, structure and great precision are combined with great length.
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