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Frédéric Magnien, Bourgogne Rouge, “Graviers”

Burgundy, France 2017 (750mL)
$32.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Frédéric Magnien, Bourgogne Rouge, “Graviers”

If you drink a lot of Burgundy, you’ve probably heard the term “micro-négociant.” We use it a lot, especially when we’re offering wine from Frédéric Magnien. Négociants are “merchant-bottlers”: They purchase fruit (or juice, or even finished wine) from individual growers and then crafts/finishes/bottle it under their names. Micro-négociants do the same thing, but in a much more hands-on, collaborative way—with results that are readily evident in the glass.
It may seem a subtle distinction, but treating vine-growers as partners rather than contractors pays measurable dividends. Magnien only works with growers who are certified organic (or in the process of conversion), and, having grown up riding his bicycle through the vineyards of Morey-Saint-Denis, he knows every inch of the Burgundy terroir. So, even at the entry level, he has a little something special for you: “Graviers” is a single vineyard near Chambolle-Musigny’s border with Morey-Saint-Denis, at the base of the slope topped by Grand Cru Bonnes-Mares. Rich in clay and, as its name suggests, gravel, it delivers lush, perfumed, old-vine Pinot Noir for this well-priced 2017. You may think of ‘Bourgogne’ as a more “macro” kind of wine, but Magnien proves otherwise: This is serious, site-specific stuff!
“Fred” Magnien founded his maison in Morey-Saint-Denis 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. He has his own teams carry out harvests in the vineyards he works with, all of which he carefully selects and closely monitors throughout the growing season. Magnien’s parcel in the Les Graviers vineyard contains vines averaging 40 years of age—quite impressive for a Bourgogne Rouge bottling!

The fruit for today’s succulent 2017 was hand-harvested and fermented on ambient yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, after which it was aged in used French oak barrels. The soils in Graviers are richer in clay, lending the wine a generous texture and somewhat softer tannins. In the glass, it’s a deep, reflective ruby moving to magenta and pink at the rim, with a fruity, floral nose of cherry kirsch, red and black raspberry, wild strawberry, damp violets, tea leaves, underbrush, and crushed stones. It is medium-bodied, plush, and fresh, all about fruit and earth with just the slightest kiss of oak spice on the finish. Decant it about 30 minutes before serving at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems and you’ve got yourself a perfumed, beautifully pure ‘go-to’ bottle for the next several years (if you stock up, that is). In classic red Burgundy fashion, this bottle will bridge the fish/meat divide effortlessly; try it with the attached cedar-planked salmon preparation and celebrate another great “get” from SommSelect. Cheers!
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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceChambolle-Musigny
Soil
Limestone & Clay
Farming
Organic
Blend
Pinot Noir 100%
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
Used French Barriques
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
30 Minutes
Decanting
Now-2023
Pairing
Ceder-Planked Salmon

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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