Wine Advisor
Robert Groffier, Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Sentiers 2023
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2023 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Sentiers is deeper and more brooding than the ethereal Haut Doigts, offering up aromas of sweet red fruits, blackberries, spices and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, with powdery tannins and a lively core of fruit, it's broader-shouldered, reflecting its origins in red soils below Bonnes Mares.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2023 Chambolle-Musigny Les Sentiers 1er Cru has more fruit intensity and presence on the nose, a mélange of blackberry, raspberry and loam, with a hint of freshly-rolled tobacco in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins and judiciously spiced red fruit that gains depth towards the finish. Quite lively with a sprinkling of cracked black pepper on the aftertaste, this is a seriously fine Chambolle-Musigny that should age with grace.
About the Producer
The Groffier family are among the best wine makers in the Côte de Nuits. Originally founded by Robert Groffier’s father, Jules in the 1950s, the domaine is now run by Robert’s grandson, Nicolas. The domaine consists of almost 8 ha of fine vineyards, including 1 ha of Bonnes Mares, almost 0.5 ha of Chambertin Clos de Bèze and a full 1 ha of Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses (the biggest single owner of this vineyard). The wine making technique is flexible and the proportion of stems to be retained is decided annually. nowadays, up to 20% of stems are retained, compared to 50% 20 years ago. The destemed grapes are transferred to stainless steel vats without crushing and cooled to 10-12 degrees so the natural yeast fermentation starts 4-5 days later – to allow further extraction of colour from the skins. Frequent short pigeages are done, and the temperature is allowed to rise up to 35 degrees – which retains even more colour to the liquid. After 17-20 days maceration, the temperature descends to 20-22 degrees and after pressing age in oak, the percentage of new one vary per cuvée and vintage – from none to the Bourgogne to up to 100% for the grand crus. The wines are only racked once, usually only a year after the vintage. The wines return to vat as the new vintage is put into barrel, so only one vintage is in barrel at any time. The wines are bottled without fining or filtration.
