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Domaine Camus-Bruchon, Savigny-lès-Beaune, “Cuvée Reine Joly”

Burgundy, France 2014 (750mL)
$30.00
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Domaine Camus-Bruchon, Savigny-lès-Beaune, “Cuvée Reine Joly”

The 2013 vintage of today’s wine, which we offered almost a year ago, is still fresh in my mind: It was a red Burgundy of incredible purity and aromatic complexity, at an extraordinary price, so I had my calendar marked for the arrival of the 2014. As most of you are aware, I have loved 2014 red Burgundies across the board, and I’m happy to report that Camus-Bruchon’s 2014 “Cuvée Reine Joly” did not disappoint; as has become the norm for this wine, it exceeded my already high expectations.
Moreover, despite 2014 being a considerably more-acclaimed vintage than ’13, the wine’s (low) price stayed the same. Savigny-lès-Beaune, situated just south of the iconic hill of Corton in Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune, is prime value-hunting ground for us, and I place Camus-Bruchon right at the top of an appellation that includes many noteworthy names—including Domaine Pavelot, Simon-Bize, and Chandon de Briailles, all of whom have been featured on SommSelect. The ’14 Cuvée Reine Joly is an absolutely impeccable bottle of Burgundy at this price, and we secured a much bigger allocation this time around—I’d encourage you to stock up, as this promises to improve for many years to come!
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—for whom this cuvée is named—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 has become their own little juggernaut in Savigny. Already in the top rank of producers in the appellation, their 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 in a particularly difficult vintage), his hands-on methodology goes far deeper. Camus-Bruchon’s vines are old, with an average 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. Cuvée Reine Joly is assembled from three diverse vineyard parcels, with soils ranging from sandy clay to shallow stony clay over a base of limestone. The pristine fruit is cold-macerated, destemmed, and fermented with only indigenous yeasts over the course of 15-20 days. The wine is aged on its lees in 3- to 4-year-old French barrels for 10-15 months and is bottled unfiltered.

The 2014 Cuvée Reine Joly has a deep, reflective ruby core with light garnet reflections on the rim. Concentrated aromas of black cherry, damp raspberry and huckleberry draw you in like a fresh-baked pie cooling on the windowsill. The fruit is complemented by scents of violet, rose petal, underbrush, a touch of mushroom and crushed rocks. The palate is medium-plus in body, with a viscous texture, lots of structure, and loads of wild berry fruit balanced by earthy, mineral notes. It is spicy, woodsy, and full of energy and pleasure right now, but will reveal even greater nuances over the next 7-10 years in your cellar. If enjoying a bottle now, pull the cork on this wine 2-3 hours before serving. Serve in Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees with something that will showcase its perfect melding of sweet and savory. The attached recipe looks right to me, but there are myriad applications for this balanced, fragrant red—do not hesitate to stock up; it has a way of growing on you. Cheers!

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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceSavigny-lès-Beaune
Soil
Limestone and Clay
Farming
Lutte Raisonnée
Blend
Pinot Noir
Alcohol
12.5
OAK
Mostly Neutral French
TEMP.
65
Glassware
Burgundy
Drinking
Now-2025
Decanting
Optional

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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