Wine Region: Burgundy - France

Grape: 100% Pinot Noir.

Tasting notes:Dark ruby colour. Floral fragrances mixed with refreshing aromas of ripe cherries (burlat) and black berries on a hint of liquorice. Ample, well-structured. Complex with well-shaped tannins. Deep and tight texture. Long and elegant finish

A Chanson "monopole" in the very heart of the first Growths vineyards of Beaune. The vineyard covering 3.80 ha is located on a mid slope. The "Clos des Fèves" was already known in the 14th century under the latin word "Fae"

Story: After a classic winter, spring settled down with warm températures but a cool weather in April slackened down the evolution of the vines. May was rainy and was followed by a warm summer with heat waves. However, a few thunderstorms épisodes brought enough rain to allow the maturation of the grapes to continue. The harvest started early september with an excellent sanitary level of the grapes. Vinification : whole bunch fermentation for approximately two weeks, the wines are then aged in our XVth century cellar for a period between 14 and 18 months. Moderate use of new oak.

Expert Rating: 

90/100 Burghound

17/20 Jancis Robinson

100/100 Guide Revue du Vin de France

About the Winery: Though modest in size, Chanson Père & Fils is one of the oldest of Beaune’s great négociant houses, having been founded in 1750 by Simon Verry. The Chanson family, already vineyard owners in Beaune, Savigny and Pernand, took control during the 19th century. In 1999 the company was sold to Bollinger, who appointed Gilles de Courcel to run the business in 2002. The company has kept its old headquarters and maturation cellars in the ‘bastion’, a late medieval stone tower which was one of Beaune’s principal fortifications, with a more modern vinification facility on the edge of town towards Savigny, built in 1974 and undergoing modernisation and extension between 2008 and 2010.

The wines are made by Jean-Pierre Confuron, of Domaine Confuron-Cotetidot in Vosne-Romanée, whose brother Yves supervises Gilles de Courcel’s family domaine in Pommard. The new team has made considerable improvements, beginning in the vineyards which are now plowed and no longer fertilized. From 2009 the domaine vineyards will be organic. Unusually amongst the major négociants, Chanson reds are made with a good proportion of the stems included. The majority of the wines see about 30 per cent new oak during maturation, with François Frères favored for red-wine barrels and Damy for white.

The Chanson Domaine, increased to 45 hectares by some shrewd purchases in 2006, provides about a quarter of the company’s production which extends to Chablis, the Mâconnais and the Beaujolais. Its own vineyards are entirely in the Côte de Beaune.

More about Maison Chanson here...