The only reason I’d call Camus-Bruchon a “sleeper” is because it’s in Savigny-Lès-Beaune. As far as public perception goes—not to mention the “conventional wisdom” of the chattering wine classes—Savigny doesn’t rank high in the Burgundy hierarchy. But let’s face it: That’s an old hierarchy. The most exciting thing about Burgundy these days is how often the conventional wisdom is turned on its head.
Look at the steady stream of spectacular wines we offer from places like Pernand-Vergelesses, or Saint-Aubin, or Nuits-St-Georges. Talent knows no boundaries, especially when the boundaries are so close to one another, as in Burgundy. Today’s 2014 from Camus-Bruchon is from the “Les Lavières” Premier Cru, which, by any objective measure, is a great Burgundy vineyard—almost fully south-facing, and at a similar elevation/orientation to the great red wine crus of the nearby hill of Grand Cru Corton. And guess what: Today’s 2014 more than lives up to its Premier Cru billing. The only thing missing is the prohibitive price. It’s pretty simple, really—if you like great red Burgundy but don’t like paying too much for it, get to know Savigny-Lès-Beaune and Camus-Bruchon. Now’s the time!
Savigny-Lès-Beaune is one of the few villages/appellations in the Côte de Beaune with much more red wine production than white (90%-10%, actually), and the Premier Cru “Les Lavières” (
lave = flat limestone slabs) is one of the best sites in the village, perched in a prime mid-slope position along the Rhoin River. It runs along a latitudinal valley that curves northward and meets the heart of Corton less than a mile away. In
this screenshot from Google Maps you can see the vineyard sloping upward to a forested hilltop; up in the right-hand corner of the frame is the Corton hill in the (not so long) distance.
Camus-Bruchon is a relatively new domaine in Burgundy, with Guillaume Camus representing “just” the third generation at the estate. It was Guillaume's grandmother, Reine Joly, who single-handedly put the family estate together, selecting choice parcels across Savigny-lès-Beaune, Pommard, and Beaune. The family sold their fruit to négociants until Guillaume’s father, Lucien, took the reins, and the father-son team became an old-vine juggernaut in Savigny, with holdings in other prime Premier Crus such as “Narbantons” and “Gravains” (sadly, Lucien passed away in 2017). Already in the top rank of producers in the appellation, the Camus star is still in its ascent, thanks in large part to their fanatical devotion to farming. Theirs are exceptionally pure, site-expressive wines, always bright and clean without feeling “made up” in any way.
Guillaume is involved in every aspect of viticulture at Camus-Bruchon, and it shows in the clarity and purity in every bottle. Although he’s technically’a practitioner of lutte raisonnée farming (which entails organic viticulture unless an emergency arises), his hands-on methodology goes far deeper. Camus-Bruchon’s vines are old, with an average age of 35 years, but some parcels are as old as 95. Thanks to conscientious manual work, the exceptionally healthy, hand-harvested fruit is sorted in the vineyards—not on a sorting table in the winery.
Given the near full-south orientation of the “Lavières” cru, it’s not surprising that this bottling is repeatedly described by importers and press at the most generous, fruit-forward Premier Cru wine in the Camus-Bruchon lineup. The Camus parcel in Lavières contains 60+-year-old vines, and in the sublimely balanced 2014 vintage it produced a wine that is at once saturated and structured—a perfect combination, in my opinion! As with his other Premier Cru wines, Guillaume incorporates some whole clusters during fermentation (15%-30%, depending on the vintage) and ages the wines for 12-18 months in mostly neutral oak barrels.
Today’s 2014 captures the ‘house style’ perfectly: It has bright, sweet fruit, soft tannins, and an air of refinement reminiscent of the wines of nearby Volnay. In the glass, it’s a deep, reflective ruby moving to garnet and pink at the rim, with a fruit basket aromas complemented by underbrush and crushed-rock notes. Aromas of black cherry, plum, raspberry, blackberry, violets, black tea, cacao, and forest floor all jump from the glass—it’s amazing what a difference a little bottle age makes in heightening the wine’s aromatic complexity. Medium-bodied and silky on the palate, this wine is also a testament to the importance of acidity, more so than tannin, in determining a wine’s capacity. I’m convinced this has at least 10 years of delicious drinking ahead of it, but not because it’s burly and hard to drink now—but rather, because it is beautifully knit together and lifted by a wave of freshness that isn’t going to wane anytime soon. I can’t help but get excited when a $40 bottle of wine comes along that’s so clearly ‘collectible.’ Enjoy a few bottles soon at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems; it only needs about 30 minutes in a decanter to start showing its stuff, but it continues to improve and expand the longer it is open. Showcase its suave elegance by pairing it with lean beef cuts or some beautiful, carefully seared duck breasts in their pan juices. I find myself sitting up a little straighter and slowing everything down a bit when I drink a wine like this. Take a taste and you’ll see what I mean!
