Icons from Chandon de Briailles

Update 25.4.2012(29.4.2012)billn

Florence, François and Claude
  Florence and François de Nicolay, and Claude de Nicolay-Drouhin – the next generation staying the background…

A lovely opportunity on a Spring-like day in March 2012 to visit the team in Savigny-lès-Beaune, and at the same time to have a mini vertical of two iconic (to me anyway!) wines from the domaine: The Ile des Vergelesses rouge and the Corton Blanc. But before we start, why not take the opportunity to have a walk around the special gardens?

I was really looking forward to this tasting: Twenty years ago Chandon de Briailles would have been in anybody’s list of top domaines, but whilst staying genuine to its own style, maybe it had progressed less quickly than than its peers. Has that been recognised? Maybe; the vineyards had been well-managed for a long time, but I have the impression that, if nothing else, the average age of the wood in the cellar has decreased a little in the last half-dozen years…

The wines

The Ile des Vergelesses is (in Pernand-Vergelesses terms) a quasi-Grand Cru – it has a depth and complexity that is often augmented with a cushioned texture from its tannins – the Chandon de Brialles bottling fits exactly to this template. The domaine’s Corton Blanc is something more of an exception I feel; many white Corton – i.e. not Corton-Charlemagne – have heft / weight of extract (call it what you will) that is absolutely of Grand Cru proportion, but this weight is rarely carried in an effortless way – and that’s because there is rarely the underlying acidity to acheive balance. The Chandon de Briailles wine is also a wine that you would never call ‘racy’, but it is delivered with an understated balance – I always look forward to it.

Well, that was my impression before I tasted anyway!

briailles-en-bouteille

2010 Chandon de Briailles, Pernand Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses
Not yet bottled, but assembled and in tank awaiting its day. Such a shame, the wine rebelling, it’s aromatically very shy. In the mouth this a wide panorama of a wine with a subtle texture and a lovely balance – indeed poise! No heavyweight but immaculately presented.

2010 Chandon de Briailles, Corton Bressandes
Francois has decided ‘why not?’ with this wine. Also in tank. There’s a lovely blast of red fruit aromas before it tightens, and then opens again with some floral stems – this wine is playing with us. Fine sweetness from equally fine fruit, clearly with an extra power after the 2010 ‘Ile’.

2009 Chandon de Briailles, Pernand Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses
Beautifully perfumed red fruit that, reminiscent of the 2010 Corton, fades in and out. Round with a little prickle to the structure (a hint of CO2 perhaps). There is a lot of wine here, certainly more apparent extraction than the 2010 so I think it will need more cellar time.

2005 Chandon de Briailles, Pernand Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses
The aromas offer density with exuberance, perhaps it’s a little tight – like many 05s. There’s nothing tight about the flavours – here is a real mouthful, with many dimensions – very good intensity as the flavour grows and grows. For all the intensity this is a very primary, young wine, there’s not even a hint of development. Tightens a little more with time in the glass.

1999 Chandon de Briailles, Pernand Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses
This wine offers up a wonderful red-fruited perfume over a depth of mineral notes. The aromas remain quite young though there is a hint of aromatic maturity starting to creep in. Ripe fruit, the texture starting quite silky and the intensity is very good. The finishing flavours have left the fruit behind and concentrate on the wine’s mineral aspects. Fine but young.

1990 Chandon de Briailles, Pernand Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses
Here’s the first wine with a little undergrowth to augment the fruit on the nose – the aromas seem almost textured – lovely. A width of flavour supported by velvet tannin and then augmented by an extra dimension of flavour and complexity in the mid-palate. It seems the domaine’s ‘Ile’ needs twenty years to start to deliver the benefits of some maturity, yet this wine will be even better in another 10 years I think.

2010 Chandon de Briailles, Corton Blanc
There is a depth of fruit flavour, yet the fruit has an intriguing halo of flavour to it – compelling but then clearly lacking precision. Here is a wine of excellent balance; whilst it’s not exactly fresh, it is certainly mellow and contemplative. Don’t take that as a criticism, it works just as it is, and I’ve no need of more acidity.

2006 Chandon de Briailles, Corton Blanc
Here is a similar depth of fruit on the nose as the 2010, a few flashes of gunflint too, however, the ‘halo’ of the 2010 fruit has developed to become a slightly creamy coating. Very silky, with an extra dimension of fruit that is reminiscent of a Côte de Beaune Grand Cru.

1992 Chandon de Briailles, Corton Blanc
Super aromatic depth again; initially brown sugar and molasses, then hints of lanolin and a note that hovers between gunflint and iodine. There is surprisingly little texture (for a 1992), unlike the 2006 (today!), here is the lithe minerality of the hill of Corton. Lovely understated acidity. A super wine to sip and sniff!

I remember older reds and whites (1980’s) followed those noted above – but we were in ‘social mode’ by then – so there are no ‘recordings’!

Summarising

Ile des Vergelesses is a wine that is clearly the king of Pernand labels and it can easily be seen in all the producers’ wines. It seems to me that the Chandon de Briailles example is exceptional – perhaps because of the use of stems, perhaps because there is a strong extraction, or more likely the combination – in that you have to wait longer to see the development of complexity and the character if ‘Iles’ than is typical with other producers. That’s not a criticism, only an observation, but it implies that these wines may also have a longer life – though perhaps that’s an extrapolation too far!

The domaine’s Corton Blanc is also exceptional, but for a different reason. For my own palate the majority of Corton Blancs (i.e. not Corton-Charlemagne) struggle for balance – despite concentration and power they often lack the balancing acidity for ‘grace’. The wine of Chandon de Briailles, whilst not an advert for super-freshness is a wine of balance and poise that seems to become more mineral with age.

Leave a Reply to Ian FitzsimmonsCancel reply

There are 6 responses to “Icons from Chandon de Briailles”

  1. Phil Eaves30th April 2012 at 5:52 pmPermalinkReply

    Bill, Corton blanc 2006

    “Very silky, with an extra dimension of fruit that is reminiscent of a Côte de Beaune Grand Cru”.

    perhaps because it is a Cote de Beaune Grand Cru, where is one of those smiley faces when you need one.

    Phil

  2. Mark Gough1st May 2012 at 7:19 amPermalinkReply

    Phil,

    Seems Bill enjoyed himself even more at Chandon than at first apparent – maybe he made his note on the Corton blanc moving into social mode 😉

    Moe seriously, I recognise well all the descriptors of the domaine’s Corton blanc Bill highlights from drinking the a few bottles of the1997 & 1998 over the last two years (the only years of this wine I’ve had). Very round, smooth, vanillin/buttery, lick of oak, very together balanced. My prefeence would, vintages acknowledged, have been for more acidity & minerality a la Corton-Charlemagnes. Nice wines though – ‘mellow & contemplative’ is spot on.

    P.S Phil, much enjoyed my first Gibourg 2008 Bidaude Blanc at the weekend. Very nice – thank you !

  3. jacob3rd May 2012 at 10:46 amPermalinkReply

    Nice! You’ve tasted Corton blanc 1992, the one I bought on the Domaine for my daughters year of birth.

    We then first tasted 1991 which was wonderful and as a result of our reactions the Comtesse opened the 1992 which was not for sale. I’d never tasted something like this before… When I mentioned I still was looking for keep-able 92’s for my daughter, she was willing to sell me two bottles. I only had to promise to wait until she has the age to appreciate this kind of wine. The bottles are still in the cellar and she really likes it, so one of these days…

  4. Ian Fitzsimmons2nd June 2012 at 2:03 amPermalinkReply

    Have you tried the Volnay Cailleret from CdB? How does their approach to vinification work in that setting?

    Thanks for the lovely report.

  5. jacob2nd August 2012 at 1:57 pmPermalinkReply

    …The bottles are still in the cellar and she really likes it, so one of these days…

    One down, one to go – quiet similar experience as Bill already noted, surprisingly young in colour and taste – it was not a super focused tasting (however everybody liked the wine) but just enjoying the moment remembering well that she was in ICU over two months last year…

  6. Howard Cooper8th August 2012 at 2:11 pmPermalinkReply

    Ian, I love CdB’s wines from Aloxe-Corton, Pernand and Savigny, but the one or two times I have had their Volnay I was not that impressed.

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