Wine Advisor
Henri Magnien, Ruchottes Chambertin Grand Cru 2018
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2018 Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru comes from 0.16 hectares equally dispersed over oolite blanche and Prémeaux limestone bedrock, with an average vine age of 50 years. It has a dense, powerful bouquet with pressed violets infusing intense black fruit; touches of blood orange develop with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. Quite powerful and structured for this Grand Cru, with a precise, focused finish that will require 5–6 years in bottle. Great potential.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2018 Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru is very promising, unwinding in the glass with a delicate bouquet of cherries, red berries, rose petals, peonies and blood orange, framed by a discreet application of new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and layered, its core of succulent fruit framed by elegantly powdery tannins.
About the Producer
The Henri Magnien wines are currently made by the dynamic young Charles Magnien, a winemaker pushing boundaries within this classic Domaine. "Charles Magnien took the helm at this enviable six-hectare Domaine in Gevrey-Chambertin in 2009, and his seemingly boundless ambition is already bearing dividends. Friends with the likes of Cyrielle Rousseau, Maxime Cheurlin and Guillaume Rouget, Magnien is part of the Côte de Nuits' dynamic younger generation, but there is substance here as well as style—manifested in a renovated and well-appointed winery and, he tells me, ambitious work in the vines." The Henri Magnien wines are also unique in the Pinot Noir clone they work with. Theirs is a particularly old clonal selection, lovingly referred to as 'Pinot Noir Magnien'. Unique to their Domaine, it lends itself to a particularly intense expression of Pinot with a distinctive spicy kick
