The Jewel of Savigny: 2005 Chandon de Briailles

5/30/2007 -

Chandon de Briailles is a somewhat overlooked estate that has been improving steadily since the mid 1980's and has become a favorite at Chambers Street Wines. The farming is biodynamic with replanting by massale selection and the winemaking is traditional (bottled without fining or filtration) . . .leading to wines of elegance, purity and wonderful ageworthiness. Some of their choicest sites include "Ile des Vergelesses" in Pernand, "Les Lavieres" in Savigny and "Clos du Roi" in Corton.

The Savigny-Les-Beaune "Lavieres" is a light wispy wine with exceptional mineral purity, a pale red color and great concentration from the fifty year old vines. The Savigny village is delicious in 2005 with rich red fruit, wonderful viscous texture and that amazing 2005 ripeness. The Volnay 1er Cru "Caillerets" is a new offering from them and honestly we do not know much about the wine but 2005 + Chandon de Briailles + Volnay Caillerets = no brainer! What we do know is that it is a tiny plot of Cailleret and the first vintage was '02. The soil is iron rich, the fruit is plumy and the aromas are off the charts. Perhaps the wine that is the trademark of this estate is the Pernand Vergelesses "Ile des Vergelesses" which in great vintages is easily Grand Cru in character. The soils are white consisting of limestone and clay and the wines has stunning aromatic complexity and brilliant finesse. There is good intensity to the fruit and outrageous length. This is a winner

The final two wines in this offer are the arguably the crown jewels in the portfolio. These are the Corton Clos du Roi and the Corton Bressandes. The vines in the Corton Clos du Roi are relatively young compared to some of their other parcels but that in no way means they lack intensity. The Clos de Roi comes from that wonderful limestone soil we hear so much about in Burgundy. Corton's are usually big, dense wines that really need many years to come around but the Clos de Roi has always been an accessible wine from the get go. In no way does this mean that this wine is a quick ager. It is actually the opposite and will last 40-50 years in a great vintage like 2005. The Corton Bressandes is the powerhouse of the trio of Cortons (the third being Marechaudes). This is a true vin de garde with outrageous complexity and a huge tannic/acid backbone that demands and rewards long cellaring. Trust me . . . .it is worth it.

So as with all 2005 Burgundy offers the wines are limited