Returning to Chambers St. Wines: Exciting 2022's from Chanterêves
9/9/2024
Since our esteemed colleague Sam Ehrlich moved on from Chambers Street Wines in late 2022, we have not had a dedicated Burgundy buyer at the shop. We did our best to keep up with the allocations, the unique opportunities to offer vintage wines, and of course the new and exciting producers and winemaking projects that the "cool kids" were buzzing about. To say the least, this was a daunting task! We are, therefore, thoroughly excited to welcome and introduce Hanna Krilov to the Chambers Street Wines team. She'll be penning future articles about Burgundy producers that we love, and if any of our readers have particular producers or wines you're hunting for, please don't hesitate to contact her at hanna@chambersstwines.com. Without further ado, we'll let Hanna take it away!
As we begin to change seasons here in New York, we begin to reach for deeper wines. But, before we rush to rich warming reds, allow the bright and energetic reds (and whites) of Domaine Chanterêves to help you to ease into Autumn. Although I have not been able to taste through this entire lineup yet, in my experience year after year their wines have always blown me away. The intensity, freshness, and precision that Chanterêves wines bring is often unmatched.
For those who are not yet familiar with the husband-and-wife team of Tomoko Kuriyama and Guillaume Bott, their wines are worth a closer look. The pair met in 2005 working in the cellars at Domaine Simon Bize. Guillaume, a Burgundian by birth, honed his skills under Gerard Boudot at Domaine Etienne Sauzet before heading to Bize where he was the chef de cave for years under the late Patrick Bize. Before arriving in Burgundy, Tomoko began her winemaking journey in Germany with producers such as Paul Fürst and Weingut George Breuer. She then earned an engineering degree in oenology and viticulture from Geisenheim University. In 2012 Tomoko relocated to Burgundy, and Chanterêves was born. Between 2012-2020 both Tomoko and Guillaume kept their respective day jobs at other domaines building up their négociant work with Chanterêves. In 2020 they became a full-fledged domaine acquiring 4.9 hectares of vineyards.
With this acquisition, they were able to progress their minimal-intervention farming ideals and produce wines that highlight purity. All vineyards are farmed organically with some incorporation of biodynamic practices. They have reduced plowing to just between mid-April and mid-July, opting to sow a more diverse and healthy cover crop. This in turn allows for more microbial activity, fights erosion, and fixes nutrients in the soil. Following the final tilling in July they manually sow 13 different perennial and annual plant species, all organic to de-compact the soil and build organic mass for better water retention.
After a very difficult 2021 where yields dropped tremendously due to frost, I am pleased to be able to offer some exciting 2022’s from this impressive duo. Quantities are VERY LIMITED I encourage you to take advance of these wines while you can. Below you can find a more technical and detailed explanation of Chantrêves winemaking practices and information on the seven different cuvées we have to offer.
-Hanna Krilov
White wine Vinification: After harvest, the wines are crushed and fermented with ambient yeast. It is then aged for 12 months in barrels with no fining, and occasional light filtration. SO2 is added only if necessary during aging and before bottling.
Red wine Vinification: Wines are fermented 100% whole-cluster with ambient yeast in wooded vats. They do pump-overs with buckets and at the end of cuvasion a limited amount of foot punch-downs. The fermentation is finished in stainless steel tanks with malolactic during the cuvasion or immediately after pressing. The wine is then aged 12 months in used oak barrels, rack and aged on the lees another 12 months in stainless steel tanks. There is no fining or filtration. At harvest there is minimal additions of SO2 with more added if needed during aging and bottling.
