Wine Advisor
Bruno Clair, Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos du Fonteny 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos du Fonteny is bridled with a very pure bouquet with wild strawberry and bergamot scents, a touch of mineralite emerging with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied, silky on the entry with fine structure towards the poised finish, hints of white pepper on the aftertaste. Very fine. It was a balmy, sunny June morning when I last visited Domaine Bruno Clair to take a peek at their 2011s, but it was different arriving to taste their 2012s, the mercury struggling above zero, snow draped over vines. It was a pleasure to meet Bruno and Philippe Brun again, the “Batman and Robin” of Marsannay, Bruno sporting his favorite lumberjack jacket ready to cut down a few trees. At least he was warm. After some reminiscing about his good friend Patrick Bize, we set about the new arrivals. The 2012s were picked between 20 September and 1 October. His village crus are raised in new oak until racking in early September and then transferred into 15-hectolitre foudres to moderate the impact of the wood. Usually they de-stem the entire crop, but the ripeness of the stems meant that his top crus include 20% whole cluster this year. They both seemed enthusiastic about the vintage and rightly so – this is a domaine that shifted up a gear and vies for the village’s leading domaine (even though their Gevrey holdings make the synonymous with the village further south.) Bruno and Philippe just appear to have found the knack of creating wines with finesse and character, a more prudent approach that has fostered more terroir-driven Pinot Noirs. Their Clos Saint Jacques was once and “also ran”. Now it is up there with the likes of Fourrier and Rousseau. Importer: A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808, Fine Vines, Melrose Park, IL; tel. (708) 343-6702, The Source, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 621-6151. Also through Justerini & Brooks and other merchants in the UK.
About the Producer
Domaine Bruno Clair is a young boutique winery in the Cote de Nuits appellation in Burgundy, France. Bruno Clair has a large number of vineyards, including the Clos de Beze in Chambertin and other first growths in Gevrey and Savigny, with a total of 12.5 acres of grand cru and first growths, and village vineyards scattered throughout Marsanne, Gevrey, Gevrey and Savigny. Chambolle Musigny, Morey St Denis, Vosne Romanee and Aloxe-Corton. The oldest of these vines is the Grand Cru de Beze, where 2/3 of the vines (mainly Pinot Noir) were planted in 1912, while the remaining 1/3 were planted in 1972. The Cazetiers, a first growth, is also quite distinctive. Located on the top of a hill in the village of Gevrey-Chambertin, the white marl of this vineyard gives the wines a richer mineral flavour, which makes them very different from the neighbouring Clos St-Jacques. Despite its high altitude, the wines from Cazetiai are low in acidity and only require a period of maturation before becoming very rounded on the palate. At present, Château Bruno Clair offers a wide range of wines, including classic reds such as Chambertin-Clos de Bèzes Grand cru and Bonnes Mares Grand Cru, in addition to rosé sparkling wines (Rose) and White wines. These Pinot Noir reds are powerful, but not over-extracted, giving the impression of being over-extracted, and are loved and appreciated by consumers and critics alike.
