Today, we’ve all hit the red Burgundy jackpot: This Premier Cru micro-cuvée is only brought overseas in minute quantities (generally no more than 15 cases) so one must be quick off the starting block to obtain any amount. And although we’ve never dragged our feet, today marks the first time we’ve been fast enough! Its desirability, aside from the brilliant, standard-shattering mind of Frédéric Magnien, lies within the deeply revered Chambolle 1er Cru “Feusselottes.” Wedged between and nearly equidistant from Grand Crus Musigny and Bonnes-Mares, this hallowed terroir is almost exclusively reserved for Burgundy elites—from Lucien Le Moine, Méo-Camuzet, and Noellat ($150-$200+) to Mugneret-Gibourg ($300+) to Cécile Tremblay ($600+).
But Magnien doesn’t just coexist with these superstars, he does two things they wouldn’t dare: a hands-off vinification in amphorae and neutral barrel, and releasing it at a vastly more affordable price. As for the final product? This is a beguilingly lush, intense, and remarkably pure 2018 Premier Cru from one of the top Pinot Noir sites in Chambolle, Burgundy, and the world. It needs hours in a decanter before one should even consider pouring it into bulbous stems, but the wisest move of all would be to wait until at least its fifth birthday. To be able to revisit this wine periodically, over the course of the next two decades, is a privilege I wish everyone could have yet only a lucky few will. I hope you’re one of them!
Many SommSelect subscribers will recognize Magnien as perhaps the most dynamic négociant in Burgundy—a producer who doesn’t merely purchase fruit from growers but collaborates closely with them throughout the growing season, implementing sustainability protocols and sending his own teams into the vineyards at harvest. Having personally met Frédéric, I can confidently say that he’s an innovative and impassioned vigneron who personifies the term “micro-négociant.” And today’s wine, from Premier Cru “Feusselottes,” is a perfect distillation of everything he brings to the table: a jewel-box vineyard site; impeccable old-vine fruit from a great vintage; and a dialed-back approach to aging that lets the nuances of site shine through as clearly as possible. This is prime “collectible” material with a lot of insider cachet.
Having grown up riding his bike through the vineyards of Morey-Saint-Denis, and learning the winemaking trade from his father, Michel (Domaine Michel Magnien), “Fred” has assembled an enviable roster of grower-partners, all of them either Certified Organic or in the process of conversion. He works closely with these growers, many of whom he’s known since childhood, to produce exceptionally pure expressions of some of Burgundy’s greatest vineyards. Magnien founded his maison in 1995, following an extended period of travel to other great wine regions of the world. The roster of wines now produced under the Magnien label is extremely long and diverse, stretching the length of the Côte d’Or and reaching up into Chablis as well. All the wines display the kind of precision that comes from careful, hands-on fruit sourcing, and there’s no doubt that Magnien considers himself a vigneron first and a winemaker second.
In recent years, as he has embraced organic and biodynamic practices, his work in the cellar has evolved: Wines have long been natively fermented with a percentage of whole clusters intact, but starting with the 2015 vintage, Magnien began aging some of his wines in a mixture of used French oak (60%) and terra cotta amphorae (40%), or jarres. He explains that “[the] mix of the two wine ageings unveil the brightness and clarity of wine thanks to the jar, while keeping its complexity and length thanks to the traditional cask.” While I was visiting, we did a tasting of both vessels, and it was astonishing that both samples on their own were great but transcendent when blended together.
“Feusselottes” sits at over 800 feet elevation and its soils are red silt with decomposed clay and limestone. As mentioned, it’s close to both Grand Crus Musigny and Bonnes-Mares—about 500 yards north and south, respectively—making it yet another fantastic illustration of the “game of inches” we so often obsess over. Magnien’s two sourced parcels are around 30-50 years old, and one of them lies within “Les Grands Mur,” a 0.8-hectare neighboring lieu-dit that is included in the larger Premier Cru “Feusselottes” designation.
Today’s hand-harvested and partially de-stemmed fruit was naturally vinified in stainless steel before being transferred into a combination of neutral French barrels (53%) and amphorae (47%). After ample aging, the wines from both vessels were blended together and bottled without fining or filtration. When I think of Chambolle-Musigny, I think of the silkiest, most seductively aromatic expressions of Pinot Noir, and I’ll admit some of those flavors are imparted by the use of new French oak—but not Magnien. And although his 2018 “Feusselottes” was raised in completely neutral vessels, it’s still a supple, voluminous Pinot Noir that stylishly carries Chambolle’s signature opulence. The nose gently wafts out fresh rose and violet alongside redcurrant, cherry pit, black raspberry, pomegranate, wild strawberry, black tea, forest floor, mushroom, and goji berry. The palate is more structured and powerful than most ’18 Chambolles I’ve had, but it never once conceals the luxuriousness of its prized place of origin. Again, I recommend allowing this to mature for another 18 months before uncorking your first bottle, but it can still be enjoyed now with a long decant. This is a deeply special Burgundy. Cheers!
