2015 Chambolle-Musigny Les Cras 1er Cru

Dominique Le Guen took over winemaking at this 8.23-hectare domain from his father-in-law Joël Hudelot in 2004 and was in the midst of a major expansion of the barrel cellar and bottle storage area when I visited in January. He has been expanding production since 2008 (before that year, the estate sold off most of their fruit) and was “very cramped” by the original facility. Our tasting was punctuated by the sound of a jackhammer.

Le Guen told me that while there were serious losses due to frost in 2016 (in Les Cras, for example, he made just three barrels, vs. a normal seven), he actually ended up with a larger crop than he had anticipated, and the vines on the Morey-Saint-Denis side performed well. He started harvesting on September 18, picking his fruit at 12.5% to 13% potential alcohol and chaptalizing lightly.

Le Guen has always destemmed all of his fruit. He begins with a cold soak at 12 degrees C. lasting six or seven days, then does “a bit of pigeage during the first couple of days, but only four to six overall,” relying more on remontage. He bottles without fining or filtration after allowing the wines to settle in cuves for six or seven weeks.

Le Guen compared his 2016s to his 2010s, but noted that the newer vintage shows less tension because the fruit is richer. He aged his crus in about 40% new oak, but used 50% for the Bonnes-Mares. In 2015, he started on September 10, which he described as “relatively late, because he wanted more phenolic ripeness and lower acidity,” adding that the pHs were too low prior to then. He believes that the ‘15s will drink well fairly early but age well, noting that he normally likes his wines most in their first ten years. He finds the 2016s more complex but the ‘15s more flattering.

This is clearly another excellent source in my favorite village, with the best yet to come.