Les Cras

From the village part of the vineyard, with southerly exposure, this is quite a pale pink-purple colour, with a beautifully stylish nose; some minerality as well as Chambolle suavity. There is pretty red fruit, with lots of detail. The wine has good acidity, while the fruit comes bouncing back at the finish.

Patrice Rion compares 2014 to a mix of 1979 and 1989 for the aromatics and delighted to have been able to pick a more or less normal-sized crop. He began on 12th September with healthy grapes, reinforced by his system of two sorting tables, one before and one after de-stemming. The amount of new oak has been reduced here, now just 30 percent on most cuvées.

The Rion plot sits just above Les Fuées. This is bright pink-purple in colour, with a discreet nose and a wonderful mouthful of pure red fruit, strawberry and raspberry together. Very sensual and with great length.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Despite this being a very late season, Patrice compares 2013 to the fruit of early vintages such as 2007 and 2011, but with more stuffing. It also reminds him of 1980, a particularly successful vintage chez Rion. The 2013 crop is a small one though, a touch more than 2012 but less than 2011. They employed two sorting tables, and since the grapes which reached the vats were all healthy, they used less sulphur during vinification.

From the village part of the vineyard, this is a lovely, even, fresh mid-purple with a sensual, stylish, classical Chambolle nose. The wine is tightly knit on the palate with good acidity, but it is the fruit which really stands out. Very long and lovely. Drink 2021-2028.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

With more than 35 vintages under his belt, Patrice Rion considers that 2015 is the finest of his career, offering elegance, acidity and persistence. They began picking on 5th September and finished before the rain which arrived the following weekend. The only sorting that needed doing was to remove any dried-out berries. The yields were acceptable, just 10 percent down in volume on the previous vintage. Unusually, Patrice and his son Maxime have used some whole bunches on certain cuvées, notably the Clos des Argillières and Clos St Marc.

With brilliant fruit on the nose, this intense Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras from Domaine Rion marries lovely crunchy fruit and a touch of spice with an impressive finish.

This is a deeply impressive wine with classic Rion-esque intensity and purity. Very classy, this continues the run of exciting wines made fom this vineyard every year since 1990. Drink 2010-2018.

Burgundy 2012 Staff Favourite - Red
Lifted red fruit and a hint of smokiness on the nose, this is a very pure Chambolle. An abundance of cherry on the palate is finely balanced by silky tannins and a touch of new oak. Give this a few years in the cellar and drink from 2017.
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager

This wine is bright, dark purple with an explosive and beautiful nose. A deft touch of oak helps to bind the exuberant fruit, dark cherries abound on the palate. This is an absolute winner in 2012.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

Picking began on 24th September through to 5th October, producing a tiny yield in Premeaux after heavy rain during flowering. However, Chambolle survived in places and did go through malolactic fermentation with ease, leaving Nuits-St Georges to be much later. Despite healthy fruit, the crop has been reduced severely, producing as little as 12 hl/ ha in places. Patrice uses 30% new wood on his village wines and 40% for his Premiers Crus. Wines marked as ‘Patrice Rion label’ are officially negoçiant cuvées, but in every case, except the village Chambolle-Musigny, the Rions have done all the vineyard work as well as made the wine.