2021 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru

This Marsannay-based producer has been on a roll in recent vintages, something that has registered with cognoscenti. Bruno Clair ran the estate from 1985 and expanded its holdings in recent years, joined by his son Edouard in 2010, then his daughter, Margaux, and younger son, Arthur, in 2018. Edouard focused on the vineyard while Arthur worked primarily in the winery and Margaux was put in charge of exports and vineyard work.

It was Arthur who welcomed me to the Domaine, always an interesting person with whom to exchange views on the vintage and Burgundy as a whole.

“We started the picking on September 9,” he tells me. “On average, we used 50% whole bunch, except for the Savigny La Dominode that has 30%. Marsannay did not have as much rain in 2023, which is why it has comparatively lower yields to other appellations. For example, we might have 5 mm in Marsannay when there was 20 mm in Gevrey-Chambertin. So, in a good way, we are surprised by the concentration of those wines. Yields were around 25 hl/ha in Marsannay compared to 40-45 hl/ha elsewhere. The pH levels were quite high and so we were concerned that the wines might be unbalanced, though after barreling – and thanks to the influence of whole bunch – it has imparted freshness, and we are finding more balance during élevage. One or two of the cuvées took longer to finish their alcoholic fermentation, including the Corton-Charlemagne. I added a bit of tartaric to some of the Village Crus.”

Arthur Clair, who now runs the Domaine with brother Edouard, guided me through most of the Domaine’s range of wines. There are 32 cuvées across 27 hectares, so I didn’t have time to go through them all. Clair is an engaging winemaker with which to exchange views, thankfully one of the dwindling instances whereby the next generation seamlessly took over, with father Bruno and longtime cellar master Philippe Brun now retired.

“We didn’t have much problem with disease, but we did miss the water, which was a problem as our vines are located on well-draining soils. Those sites were advantageous in the past [when seasons were rainier.] They still offer fruit that has ripeness and concentration and the quality has increased. In Clos Saint-Jacques, we did not suffer too much soil erosion because we use cover crops. [By August], everything was ready to pick, but the phenolics and the taste were not there when we tasted the berries. We would have missed some aromas, and so we waited. My grandfather and great-grandfather planted massal selection using early ripening vines, and so despite delaying picking, we were still one of the first to pick in the Côte de Nuits. We started to pick around the 28 August with Côte de Beaune cuvées and also one parcel of Bonnes-Mares that ripens early. It was a classic vinification. We did a 12-day cuvaison with a lot of whole clusters [mainly 50% across all cuvées] with less pigeage, around seven or eight in total across all appellations. We didn’t want to ferment at more than 31° Celsius in order to avoid dark fruit. We will bottle our 2022s between March and June.”

Tasting the domaine’s wines over more than 20 years, I have seen a refinement over the last five or six years. There was once as much rusticity as charm. Nowadays, there’s a real delicacy, a fineness of touch, stylistically moving their wines towards Rousseau-like transparency and precision. There’s much to offer across the range away from magnets like their Clos Saint-Jacques and Bonnes-Mares, excellent as they are. Readers should check out their superb spread of single vineyard Marsannay cuvées or their overlooked range of whites. If not there already, this producer is fast becoming one of my favorites.

For the final time, I met Philippe Brun at the winery, as Brun is due to retire in the near future. It will be strange not seeing him flanking Bruno Clair next year. Marsannay’s ‘dynamic duo’ has produced some excellent visits in recent years. “We started the picking on 9 September,” Clair told me. “That was the Bonnes Mares because it was already very ripe. But the serious picking really began on 15 September. We finished on 24 and 25 September. The yields were half for the whites because of the dryness, for the reds it was 15-30% less than last year. Vines with deep roots that could penetrate the fissures performed best and did not show any stress. But overall, I am very pleased with the regularity of crop across the reds irrespective of vine age.” It was a wise decision to pick that Bonnes-Mares early because it may well turn out to be their star performer, closely followed by the Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze. Comparing them side-by-side, I might err for the 2018 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques over the 2019, but we will see. Despite millerandage in the vineyard, the Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers displays superb mineralité. Though their 2019 Clos du Fonteny is very promising, the 2018 seemed out of sorts and I will endeavour to re-examine this. Overall, it was a superb set of 2019s from Bruno Clair that will age with style.

For the final time, I met Philippe Brun at the winery, as Brun is due to retire in the near future. It will be strange not seeing him flanking Bruno Clair next year. Marsannay’s ‘dynamic duo’ has produced some excellent visits in recent years. “We started the picking on 9 September,” Clair told me. “That was the Bonnes Mares because it was already very ripe. But the serious picking really began on 15 September. We finished on 24 and 25 September. The yields were half for the whites because of the dryness, for the reds it was 15-30% less than last year. Vines with deep roots that could penetrate the fissures performed best and did not show any stress. But overall, I am very pleased with the regularity of crop across the reds irrespective of vine age.” It was a wise decision to pick that Bonnes-Mares early because it may well turn out to be their star performer, closely followed by the Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze. Comparing them side-by-side, I might err for the 2018 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques over the 2019, but we will see. Despite millerandage in the vineyard, the Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers displays superb mineralité. Though their 2019 Clos du Fonteny is very promising, the 2018 seemed out of sorts and I will endeavour to re-examine this. Overall, it was a superb set of 2019s from Bruno Clair that will age with style.

Bruno Clair and Philippe Brun are the Batman and Robin of Marsannay that have really ratcheted up quality at this domaine. Both were on top form when I dropped in at their winery (though my God, whatever Bruno had just eaten for lunch, it was making his tummy rumble like Krakatoa!) “We had a lot of rain in the winter," he told me. "It was completely different to the 2019 growing season. In 2018 the maturity was quite strong. We started the picking on 27 August until the 8 or 9 September. I find that the tannins are very tender. Maybe you could say 2018 is a mixture of 1947 and 1959. There is more fruit than in 2003 and more phenolic maturity. The whole bunch in 2018 is between 30-40% as in 2017 and we did less pigeage after fermentation. The alcohol is between 13 and 14% but most are around 13.5%." I strongly recommend this domaine's wines, with some gems among the Premier Crus.

Bruno Clair and Philippe Brun are the Batman and Robin of Marsannay that have really ratcheted up quality at this domaine. Both were on top form when I dropped in at their winery (though my God, whatever Bruno had just eaten for lunch, it was making his tummy rumble like Krakatoa!) “We had a lot of rain in the winter," he told me. "It was completely different to the 2019 growing season. In 2018 the maturity was quite strong. We started the picking on 27 August until the 8 or 9 September. I find that the tannins are very tender. Maybe you could say 2018 is a mixture of 1947 and 1959. There is more fruit than in 2003 and more phenolic maturity. The whole bunch in 2018 is between 30-40% as in 2017 and we did less pigeage after fermentation. The alcohol is between 13 and 14% but most are around 13.5%." I strongly recommend this domaine's wines, with some gems among the Premier Crus.

This year, Philippe Brun escorted me through the domaine’s 2017s. Once known for its intermittently rustic wines, there is a sense of newfound refinement and elegance that has seen Bruno Clair gain a wider and well-deserved following. This is partly because they have eased off the extraction and picked just a little earlier. They oversee a strong portfolio of cuvées, not just their Grand Crus and prized rows within Clos Saint-Jacques, but a cluster of excellent Village and Premier Crus that can offer great value. Brun told me that they commenced the picking on September 5 and picked over the following five days - quite a short harvest given their range of holdings. None of the wines had been racked when I visited, and they plan to blend the cuvées in January.

This was a very fine set of wines from Bruno Clair, though one or two, such as the Gevrey-Chambertin Petite Chapelle and perhaps the Cazetiers and Clos Saint-Jacques, left me wondering if they could have given more. It was another Gevrey-Chambertin – the 0.68-hectare monopole of Clos du Fonteny, which rises on a geological ledge a few meters above the rest of Fonteny – that really caught my eye, alongside a very impressive Marsannay Les Grasses-Têtes and a superb Bonnes-Mares that crowns their range. Generally, I found assiduous use of whole bunches here and a collection of wines that range from the easygoing to others that boast long-term potential.

“We were massacred by the frost in Chambolle, Savigny and the south side of Marsannay,” said Bruno Clair in January, adding that his estate produced just 35% of a normal crop in 2016. But he added that he had only half a crop in 2015, and roughly the same production in 2013, 2012 and 2010 as well. The estate began harvesting on September 23 with grape sugars around 12% and chaptalized about half a degree. In comparison, potential alcohol levels were at least 13% in 2015 (13.5% for the Bonnes-Mares) and no chaptalization was done.

Cellarmaster Philippe Brun vinified most of the ‘16s with 20% to 25% whole clusters. The malos were protracted, typically lasting until August, and the wines had been racked and assembled in November. Clair described 2016 as “a classic vintage with less excesses of heat and drought than 2015, and a set of wines that should age well. Only the frost was a problem, and the wines have good balance and structure.” Brun added that he prefers the more linear 2016s and that he finds the 2015s "a bit too rich, even if they avoided any cooked taste. But we'll see in ten years."

“We were massacred by the frost in Chambolle, Savigny and the south side of Marsannay,” said Bruno Clair in January, adding that his estate produced just 35% of a normal crop in 2016. But he added that he had only half a crop in 2015, and roughly the same production in 2013, 2012 and 2010 as well. The estate began harvesting on September 23 with grape sugars around 12% and chaptalized about half a degree. In comparison, potential alcohol levels were at least 13% in 2015 (13.5% for the Bonnes-Mares) and no chaptalization was done.

Cellarmaster Philippe Brun vinified most of the ‘16s with 20% to 25% whole clusters. The malos were protracted, typically lasting until August, and the wines had been racked and assembled in November. Clair described 2016 as “a classic vintage with less excesses of heat and drought than 2015, and a set of wines that should age well. Only the frost was a problem, and the wines have good balance and structure.” Brun added that he prefers the more linear 2016s and that he finds the 2015s "a bit too rich, even if they avoided any cooked taste. But we'll see in ten years."

The rain on August 6 brought the grapes back to a state of equilibrium following the drought conditions in July and saved the 2015 harvest, said Bruno Clair, who added that there were two subsequent “key” rains in August. “But we didn’t have a lot of grapes and they never got large,” he noted, and the estate ultimately produced the equivalent of half a normal crop.

Clair started harvesting with his Bonnes-Mares on September 5 and needed two weeks to pick. Grape sugars were mostly between 12.5% and 13%, with some even higher. The harvest was “perfectly clean” and the estate vinified with a higher percentage of whole clusters than normally. The malolactic fermentations finished relatively quickly, during the winter, and Clair expected to bottle the bulk of his 2015s in April of 2017. “The wines have complexity, charm and drive,” Clair summarized, “and they are not austere.”

Incidentally, Clair took back the remainder of his Bonnes-Mares in 2016 and now works 1.45 hectares of vines in this grand cru. All of his land is in Chambolle-Musigny, except for a small band of vines next to Clos de Tart.

Bruno Clair’s 2014s stood out for their precision and transparency to terroir in December. Even if they don’t have the sheer thickness of the ‘15s, I had a hard time choosing between the two vintages. The '14s were bottled between late April and the end of May of 2016.

Bruno Clair’s 2014s stood out for their precision and transparency to terroir in December Even if they don’t have the sheer thickness of the ‘15s, I had a hard time choosing between the two vintages The '14s were bottled between late April and the end of May of 2016

"The 2014s showcase their terroirs while the 2013s are more marked by the almost historically cool season," said Bruno Clair in December. He made between 70% and 80% of a normal crop in 2014 and finds these wines riper than the 2013s, which he says "ripened by concentration, not from sun. The 2014s have a bit of the finesse of the 2011s but they also have more depth."

This estate benefits from a high percentage of very old vines. In fact, thanks to the quality of the genetic material planted here, cuttings from Clair's vines, along with those of Domaine Ponsot, were used by the University of Dijon in the 1960s to create some of the clones that are most highly regarded today in Burgundy and elsewhere. I tasted the Marsannay cuvées from large casks, and all but one of the rest from barriques; all of the 2014s had been racked in October.

The team here did a lot of triage in the vines at the beginning of September, said Bruno Clair, to protect the fruit against rot and to speed up the ripening process, as the grapes were still green. In the end, he told me, "2013 did not reach the same ripeness as 2014 did, and ripeness came from loss of juice in the grapes rather than from photosynthesis." Two thousand fourteen conveys terroir character while 2013 is more marked by the "historic climate" of the year, he added. Clair began harvesting in 2013 on October 3.

It's always a pleasure to sit down and taste with Bruno Clair and his longtime winemaker, Philippe Brun, both of whom are a treasure trove of experience and knowledge. Clair brought in his fruit beginning on October 7, which only has parallels in the estate's recent history with 1978 and 1980, where the harvests started on October 10 and 12. It's true that 2008 was almost as late as 2013, except that in 2013 the last few days of ripening did not add a meaningful amount of concentration as they did in 2008. Clair adds that sugars alone are not a measure of quality, as evidenced by the 1991s, many of which are more complete than their 1990 counterparts. Of course, the issue with any late-ripening year is that the days are shorter as the season progresses, so there are meaningful differences between the heat of August and that of September. As if the bad flowering and early start to the year was not enough, Clair's vineyards in Savigny-les-Beaune and Pernand-Vergelesses were all damaged by hail. According to Clair, the Charlemagne was more skin than juice, clearly a far from favorable situation. I tasted the 2013s from barrel, after they had been racked. Where the wines don't carry the signatures of hail they are quite pretty. Philippe Brun adds that while the terroirs are well marked in 2013, the wines should be enjoyed before the 2012s.

Although I was only able to taste a handful of bottled 2012s, the wines I saw confirmed my very positive impressions from last year. Bruno Clair's 2012s are rich, fat and textured, but with more than enough structure to support many years of fine drinking.

Bruno Clair described his 2010s as austere but the 2012s as fatter and fleshier, and the richness of the new vintage is especially clear in the estate's top cuvees.The domain harvested from September 20 until October 2, bringing in fruit with potential alcohol levels between 12% and 12.5% and chaptalizing about a half degree.They used their vibrating sorting table to eliminate the grapes grilled by sun at the end of July.Winemaker Philippe Brun told me he did two pigeages per day at the beginning of the fermentation, relying mostly on remontages at that stage, then three or four punchdowns per day at the peak of fermentation.Most cuvees were vinified with about 20% whole clusters.The 2012s were racked before the harvest of 2013. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., www.martinscottwines.com; Fine Vines, www.finevines.com; Cordon Selections, www.cordonselections.com; The Source Imports, www.thesourceimports.com)

Bruno Clair and his longtime winemaker Philippe Brun do so many things well, as these 2012s amply show. Where to start with these wines? Well, the Marsannays are terrific, but frankly so are all the wines. The harvest started on September 20 and wrapped up on October 2. By comparison, the 2013 harvest started on October 3 and lasted until the 20th. Malos were quite late here, and the wines were only racked in early September. Over the last few years Clair has begun to age some of his wines partly or wholly in cask, where volumes allow for larger aging vessels. When all is said and done, Bruno Clair's wines have been among the most impressive for some time and are deserving of a much wider audience. I highly encourage readers to check them out.

This is a fabulous set of wines from Bruno Clair and his long-time oenologist Philippe Brun. The harvest started on September 25. Yields were 22-30 hectoliters per hectare, which is to say a good 10% less than 2003, a torrid vintage marked by tiny yields. Clair describes the fruit as healthy, with no botrytis and soft tannins from the late harvest. The 2010s were 100% destemmed. New oak ranged from 25% for the villages to 50% for the Grand Crus, except for the Marsannays, which saw very little new oak.

This is a beautiful set of wines from Bruno Clair. Every wine I tasted with Clair's longtime oenologist Philippe Brun was gorgeous from top to bottom. While the top 2009s are certainly superb, the real jewels here are the village level wines which appear to be among the great success stories of the 2009 vintage. I tasted all of the wines from barrel, except the Marsannay and Marsannay Les Vaudanelles, both of which were bottled before the 2010 harvest. In 2009 Clair began harvesting on September 15 and ended on the 23rd. I also tasted a handful of 2008s, from a much later harvest that stretched into October. The handful of wines I tasted from that vintage are equally impressive, and equally worth your time.

Clair, who started picking pinot noir on the late side (September 14), describes 2009 as "a very generous year, easy to vinify, with round, rich tannins." He ranks the vintage with past favorites like 2002 and 1990. Only the yields in Chambolle-Musigny, where his vines are not quite 20 years old, are particularly high, he told me-this despite the fact that he did a green harvest in these vines. Compared to the 2009s, the 2008s are vins de garde, he went on, and they will probably shut down in bottle. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL) Other wines tasted: Chambolle-Musigny Les Veroilles, Morey-Saint-Denis en La Rue de Vergy.

This is a beautiful set of wines from Bruno Clair. Every wine I tasted with Clair's longtime oenologist Philippe Brun was gorgeous from top to bottom. While the top 2009s are certainly superb, the real jewels here are the village level wines which appear to be among the great success stories of the 2009 vintage. I tasted all of the wines from barrel, except the Marsannay and Marsannay Les Vaudanelles, both of which were bottled before the 2010 harvest. In 2009 Clair began harvesting on September 15 and ended on the 23rd. I also tasted a handful of 2008s, from a much later harvest that stretched into October. The handful of wines I tasted from that vintage are equally impressive, and equally worth your time.

Clair delayed harvesting in 2008 until September 30, then picked until October 14, doing a sorting in the vines, especially to eliminate pink grapes. He told me that he lost 20% of his volume due to the wind during the second half of September and that the typical 2008 began with potential alcohol of 12.2% to 12.7%, although the range was actually quite extreme: from 10% to 13.5%. Following very late malos, the premier and grand crus-but not the village wines-had been racked and sulfited just a week or two prior to my visit. The 2008s are characterized by their strawberry and raspberry elements, said Clair, while the 2007s are more about black fruits. "But 2008 has great aging potential," he believes. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)

"The 2007 vintage is about fruit more than volume," said winemaker Philippe Brun, who did a soft extraction. "Still, the wines are a bit more sturdy than we thought at the beginning, and they didn't lose color during the racking, which is a good sign." Acidity levels were sound, and pHs were "not very high for here," he went on. He summed up: "The '07s are more pinot, but we find more personality and terroir in the '06s. But the '06s don't give pleasure yet and need cellaring." (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)

Bruno Clair, who harvested quite late in 2006 (September 27 through October 7), says that this vintage now gives a great deal of pleasure, while 2005 is powerful but closed, with the constitution to age for a long time. The big news here is that the estate took back much of its Bonnes-Mares in early 2006, and has virtually doubled its quantities of Chambertin Clos de Beze, Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques and Vosne-Romanee Champs-Perdrix, following the expiration of long-term rental agreements (mostly with Jadot) that had been signed when Bruno's father Bernard left him 15 hectares of vineyards in 1988. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)