Frédéric Magnien is an innovative and impassioned vigneron who personifies the term “micro-négociant” (a designation of relatively recent coinage). And today’s Chambolle-Musigny is a perfect distillation of everything he brings to the table: primely positioned parcels; impeccable old-vine fruit; 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 having learned his craft 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 naturally fermented with a percentage of whole clusters intact, but starting with the 2015 vintage, Magnien began aging some of his wines—including today’s—in a mixture of old French oak and terra cotta amphorae. 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.”