91 -94 points,

Burghound, May 2011

An extremely ripe nose combines spiced plum, floral, mineral and prune notes that lead to attractively textured, suave, supple and utterly delicious medium-bodied flavors blessed with seemingly endless reserves of extract that buffer the firm tannic spine on the long and serious finish. I very much like the underlying sense of tension and this should be most impressive in 10 to 15 years. Note that this is not a classic Caillerets as it's exceptionally ripe. - Comments: Sweet spot Outstanding ♥

About Winery

This historic estate was established in 1834. Claude de Nicolay took over from her mother as winemaker in 1988 and crafts traditionally styled wines from one of the Cote d'Or's great terroirs, the hill of Corton and its surrounding villages.  The vineyard management has been fully biodynamic since 2005 and organic since 1998.

The earth is coming back to life in Burgundy after so many years of abuse from pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.  The result here, under the direction of Claude Drouhin and François de Nicolay (sister & brother), is fruit that is rich, but maintains excellent acidity levels.  It was the dropping acidity levels, which led many producers to forego their chemical vineyard treatments for a cleaner, healthier system of vineyard management.  Yields here average only 35 hectoliters per hectare.

        

At this domaine, there is no new oak used.  They prefer to purchase 1-2 year old barrels from other top domaines in northern Burgundy.  This enables the pure Chardonnay and Pinot Noir fruit to come forward, un-muddled by strong oak flavors.  In addition, the elusive terroir, which is everything in Burgundy, is allowed to come through.  In fact, tasting several wines at a time from producers like Chandon de Briailles is the best way for the uninitiated to grasp the meaning of terroir, the French term that refers to the impact that specific soil, weather and site have on the final wine.