2023 Chambolle-Musigny, Vieilles Vignes, Patrice & Maxime Rion, Burgundy
About this WINE
Michele & Patrice Rion
Patrice Rion and his wife Michèle began their own small domaine with just two wines, an outstanding Bourgogne Rouge Bons Batons and the sumptuous Chambolle Musigny les Cras, in 1990 while Patrice continued as winemaker at the Domaine Daniel Rion. They enlarged in 2000 when Patrice left Domaine Daniel Rion. He has built a cuverie and cellar on his own property and also makes a small range of négociant cuvées to supplement their small vineyard holding. He has recently been joined in the business by son Maxime.
Since he left the latter in 2000 he has added Chambolle Musigny les Charmes and Nuits St Georges Clos des Argillières (his share from the family domaine) and in 2005 Nuits St Georges Terres Blanches (white), some more Argillières and the monopole Nuits St Georges Clos St Marc in 2006. Also from 2006 he has entered an agreement to manage the vineyards and purchase the grapes from a small estate in Chambolle which includes some Chambolle Musigny Les Amoureuses and grand cru Bonnes Mares.
To complement this range there are some additional cuvées, notably Chambolle Musigny and Nuits St Georges vieilles vignes, made from purchased grapes.
The wines are made in Patrice’s purpose built small winery in Prémeaux. Patrice was one of the first to train his vines higher than the Burgundy standard, to increase the canopy without shading the grapes, which gives better ripening and colour. He is also frequently an innovator in the cellar and offers some wines (Bourgogne Bon Batons, white wines, half bottles) in stelvin screwcaps. The grapes are sorted on two tables de tri, one before destemming and the other after. The whole berries are conveyed to their stainless steel vats for a cuvaison of about three weeks: 7 days at 11/12°, followed by 2 weeks fermentation and post-fermentation, not exceeding 32°. There are now two barrel cellars so that each vintage can be aged for 18 months without racking. Most wines now receive 50% new wood.
Patrice’s style is for very pure, harmonious wines, skilfully vinified and then matured in oak barrels with a well judged percentage of new oak (usually 50% new) for 18 months, without racking or fining.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.
Chambolle-Musigny
Chambolle produces the most elegant wines in the Côte de Nuits, having more active chalk and less clay in the soil than the other villages. The wines may be a little lighter in colour and less tannic than Gevrey-Chambertin but they have a sublime concentration of fruit. Village Chambolle-Musigny usually provides excellent value.
Le Musigny is one of the top half-dozen vineyards in Burgundy, producing wines of extraordinary intensity and yet with a magical velvety character. Les Amoureuses is immediately appealing, a wonderfully sensual wine which deserves Grand Cru status. Bonnes Mares tends to have a firmer structure and ages very well
- 94 hectares of village Chambolle-Musigny.
- 61 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards (24 in all). The finest vineyards include Les Amoureuses, Les Charmes, Les Fuées, Les Baudes and Sentiers.
- 24 hectares of Grand Cru vineyard - Bonnes Mares and Le Musigny.
- Recommended producers: de Vogüé, Mugnier, Roumier, Barthod.
- Recommended restaurant: Le Chambolle
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
This is purchased fruit from three sites, including the charmingly named Les Pas de Chat (something like “the cat’s footsteps”). There are 12 barrels in 2023 (vs 15 last year). This is deep and intense with a heady perfume of red fruit, spice and floral notes. There is a chalky, tannic grip on the palate, which is very fine. There is a beautiful coulis note and a little baking spice. This is rich and generous.
Berry Bros. & Rudd (October 2024)
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