Chambolle Musigny 2023 Meo Camuzet

Tasting Note Chambolle Musigny 2023

Initial aromas of raspberry and wild strawberry give way to hints of violet and warm, oak-derived spice notes. The silky mouthfeel, this texture is precisely what the Chambolle-Musigny appellation is famous for, and the 2023 vintage's maturity manifests as fruity sweetness rather than heaviness. The tannins are delicate. Subtle mineral notes lend a crispness to the finish. This is a youthful, open wine whose distinct character is already clearly evident.

Grape Varieties

Because Pinot Noir reacts more strongly to soil characteristics than other varieties, this Chambolle-Musigny wine from this village tastes different from the Vosne-Romanée wine produced by the same winery. In the clay-rich soils of Les Cras, it produces aromas of red fruit and a supple structure with restrained tannins. 

Cellaring Potential

This wine is best enjoyed between 2026 and 2040. Delicate tannins and a rich, mineral finish form the backbone of the 2023 Chambolle-Musigny wine; however, this is a Village level wine, and was not made with decades of aging in mind. Serve at 16-18 °C. A brief decanting period of about 30 to 60 minutes will allow the aromas to open up.

About Meo Camuzet

For decades Domaine Méo-Camuzet owned some of Burgundy's best land without making the wine from it. Étienne Camuzet, mayor of Vosne-Romanée and a deputy for the Côte-d'Or, was too busy with politics, so he leased his vines out to four farmers, one of them Henri Jayer. That arrangement ran on until 2008, when the last tenants retired and Jean-Nicolas Méo finally had every plot in his own hands. He had come back to Vosne-Romanée in 1989, taught by Jayer and by Christian Faurois, son of one of the estate's historic tenants. Fourteen hectares, six Grand Crus (Richebourg among them), ten Premier Crus across four communes, village wines and three Chardonnays. Every plot is vinified and bottled separately. Organic practices without certification, horses on the difficult slopes, around seventeen months in French oak on average, then gravity bottling, unfiltered.

Christian Faurois retired in 2018 after decades running the vines, replaced by Damien Hudelot.

Méo-Camuzet Frère et Sœurs, the négoce arm was set up in the early 2000s with the same family shareholding and is commercially of importance.

Terroir & Climate

Les Cras is located midway up a slope just north of the village of Chambolle; because it faces due south, the fruit ripens early. The soil is of moderate depth and contains a moderate amount of clay, which retains moisture even during dry periods, preventing the vines from drying out. In other areas of Chambolle-Musigny, hard, cracked limestone predominates. Here, the clay content lends the wine a slightly fuller body compared to the lighter-textured plots within the commune.

Winemaking

Harvesting is done by hand, after which the grapes are sorted on a sorting table. Depending on the vintage, 5 to 20 percent of the harvest is culled during sorting. This is followed by cold maceration at approximately 15 °C for 3 to 5 days, after which natural fermentation begins and continues for 2 to 3 weeks. Pumping over occurs early in the process, and punching down is carried out toward the end. Sulfur levels are kept low. After aging for an average of 17 months in French oak barrels, the wine is bottled by gravity without filtration.

Food Pairing

The ideal pairing is with chicken dishes. Examples include coq au vin, roasted pheasant, and simply roasted poulet. Veal finished with a creamy sauce is also a good match, as the sauce's flavor does not overpower the wine's red berry aromas. Mushrooms are another option. Morels and porcini mushrooms complement the earthy nuances of Pinot Noir. Epoisses cheese, produced nearby, is mild enough not to overpower the wine's flavor.