Tasted in Chambolle-Musigny with Antoine Amiot-Servelle, 18 June 2019.
Domaine Amiot-Servelle
34, rue Caroline Aigle
21220 Chambolle-Musigny
Tel: +33 3 80 62 80 39
www.amiot-servelle.com
A domaine where Chambolle and Morey meet…
Clément Tachot was the creator of this domaine back in 1920 and it was his son-in-law, Jean Servelle, that took on the newly named Domaine Servelle-Tachot from him. Christian Amiot, related to the Amiots of neighbouring Morey St.Denis, married Elisabeth Servelle and has been working at the domaine from 1980, indeed Christian took on the running of the domaine when Jean Servelle died in 1989, the name of the domaine changing to Amiot-Servelle in 1990. The daughter of Christian and Elisabeth, Prune, joined the domaine as a winemaker in 2011, having previously worked in the Rhône and, closer to home, Jaffelin in Beaune. Their son Antoine joined more recently.
The domaine’s vines are focused on Chambolle-Musigny, though it’s not a large domaine – it was just 6.3 hectares when Christian took over, then another hectare came in 2010 from his (Morey) side of the family. There are seven Chambolle 1ers sold from here – and of-course, many more parcels in the villages area of Chambolle too – but from the Morey side there is a villages cuvée and some Clos St.Denis – even a little Charmes-Chambertin (from Mazoyères) from Gevrey too.
Although the domaine had long been run on organic principles – plus ploughing and hoeing instead of chemical control – the approach was tightened up in 2003 and the first steps towards certification were made in 2005 – they are certified here since 2008.
The wines…
I first tasted a range of wines from this domaine in 2017 – in the Clos de Vougeot – I liked them very much. It took a while to get the chance to visit, but it was worth it. A very fine and wide range of Chambolle wines (and more!) from this small producer. Very much worth your time…
2017 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Produced from three parcels on the other side of Route Nationale, towards Gilly. No whole-clusters in this – it has only been bottled for about 6 weeks.
A faintly saline nose with direct red fruit – really positive freshness. Round, open, there’s a depth to this. Elegant but with a good depth of flavour, some herb on the mix, almost a wild strawberry. Very long – impressively so.
2017 Morey St.Denis
Some Clos Solon, plus grapes from another parcel near the Route Nationale.
More width and depth of aroma, a little attractive whole-cluster impression to this. Not bigger in the mouth than the Bourgogne, but with a more complex energy and a faint touch of tannin. A more mineral line of finishing flavour. Super!
2017 Chambolle-Musigny
Plenty of parcels; most of Bas Doix, a little Cras, some just above Musigny and other parts close to Morey – 10% wc.
A tighter nose, very red-fruited. More mineral, more direct, structural wine with lots of melting flavour – love this – but drink the Morey first, this has just a little impression of oak in the finish.
2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Plantes
Next to Charmes – they have 3 plots of Charmes – in the middle of the Combe.
More weight of concentrated fruit, if generally a less open nose. But a wine with presence. Structural again, but more padding more width too. Melting with fine flavour – the 1er cru difference. A faint grain of ripe tannin – but a good texture here. Saline finishing – super wine.
2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Fuées
Next to Bonnes-Mares, on the hill.
Here’s a little extra weight of aromatic fruit. Ooh, volume, complexity, depth of flavour – ooh (again) I love this! Concentrated but not so bulky and muscular as a lot of Fuées. Excellent!
From three separate parcels, blended.
Not the biggest colour. A lovely fresh width of aroma, slowly adding a clarity of fresh red fruit, halfway between strawberry and cherry. More mid and finishing weight – more than the Fuées – though less overt concentration. However, this is a more textural wine than the Fuées and it delivers a super burst of finishing flavour and it’s so persistent too – bravo.
2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Borniques
The domaine always had these vines, but this is the first time that a standalone cuvée has been separated. The vines are located at the village end of Musigny – this made all wc but no new oak.
Some rose in a roundness of fine aroma, of wild strawberry too. Mineral but again with a mouth-watering presence, faintly touched by a grain of ripe tannin – a wine to wallow in. So good… Intense and long finishing…
On the Morey side of the village. It’s a small 1er cru covering just over 0.7ha – this domaine owning almost half.
A tighter core of aroma but faintly spiced. Another wine that’s more structural, a little spice on the palate too, saline and ridiculously complex. A baby with so much to see. Really a little young for now but great wine!
2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Amoureuses
30% wc, plenty of younger vines in this. Plantations in 1993, 2003-05, and another third will be done this year.
The nose starts quite modest then there’s this brilliant flash of fowers. Fine gannin, a ripe grain. Nice, open, labile volume/texture. Today I prefer Derriere la Grange and Borniques but this is damn close!
Feuselottes, not tasted, but it’s a tiny cuvée here.
Actually in Mazoyères but the family always labelled as so. Very old vines no wc
A very wide nose, also a little burst of florals with swirling. Hmm, that’s a lovely freshness and it’s complex too. I so rarely say ‘bravo’ to Charmes, but here yes!
2017 Clos St.Denis
Here is a different nose – of direct weight, of ripe but pure fruit. Weight of flavour in the mouth – depth is a better description. This is young grand cru with a lot of potential. Powerful. super wine with a little mineral twist at the finish. Excellent!
There is one response to “Profile: Amiot-Servelle (Chambolle)”
Happy to read that you have discovered Domaine Amiot-Servelle. I have been drinking these wines when in France for the last 25 years or so and have never been disappointed with the wines nor their quality:price ratio!! Hard to find in USA but occasionally they appear. Agree with you that his wines are outstanding.