Camus-Bruchon

pimentiers NV
🖨️PRINT
Email

 

 

 pimentiers NV

 

 

Camus-Bruchon Savigny-Les-Beaune 2019 Pimentiers Veilles Vignes (Organic)
Camus-Bruchon Savigny-Les-Beaune 2019 Premier Cru Narbantons (Organic)

Savigny-les-Beaune is home to the historic domaine Camus-Bruchon et Fils, a happy hunting ground for red Burgundy lovers who appreciate value as well as quality in their Pinots.  The Camus family is gifted in old vines, many of which were planted just before and after World War I by Reine Joly, current owner Guillaume’s great grandmother. 

This domaine has its origins in the early 18th century, but was most recently run (until his death in 2017) by the charming Luc Camus. Luc’s own father died when Luc was only 12 in 1961 and Luc took the reins of the domaine in 1972. This is a winery that, in a more celebrated commune, would rightly be very famous. It is just that their home commune of Savigny is so overlooked: shame, as it is to where the cognoscenti go for a proper bargain. Camus-Bruchon is now run by Guillaume, Luc’s son, who works 20 acres of vines in Savigny, Beaune, Chorey and Pommard. The Savignys, from exceptionally old vines, are some of the finest wines of the appellation.

Guillaume Camus of Domaine Camus-Bruchon is one of the most sure-handed red winemakers in the Côte de Beaune. Located in the village of Savigny-les-Beaune, just north of Beaune proper, the Camus family crafts beautifully balanced, deep and complex wines that are the embodiment of what great Burgundy is all about. The family has a lovely spread of top vineyards in Savigny-les-Beaune (both superb Premier Crus and a handful of top villages-level wine parcels planted with very old Pinot Noir vines), as well as a bit of Premier Cru in Beaune and Pommard.

As is usually the case at high-performing domaines, Guillaume Camus spends the lion’s share of his time in the vineyards. There is a notably high percentage of very old vines in the Camus-Bruchon portfolio, and from these venerable vines hail some of the very finest and classiest examples of Savigny-les-Beaune to be found in Burgundy.

Across the board the Camus-Bruchon wines are precise and reflective of their underlying terroir, with great sappiness and depth in the mid-palates, coupled with brilliant structural integrity and a lovely mineral backbone that makes them truly distinctive among the wines of the southern half of Burgundy. Throughout the generations, Camus pere et fils have always been meticulous and talented winemakers. In the cellar, they use no more than twenty-five percent new oak for any of their top wines. Starting in 2010, Guillaume began using some whole cluster fermentation (15-30%, depending on the vintage), which adds some additional complexity and freshness to the wines.  Overall, there is a refined elegance and perfumed precision to the Camus-Bruchon wines that is very special, and is most impressive considering the rather youthfully “sauvage” elements that can sometimes be found in any young Savignys and Pommard. Guillaume Camus is one of the unsung young stars of the Côte de Beaune. Yet because he is working in the village of Savigny-les-Beaune, rather than Vosne-Romanée or Gevrey-Chambertin, his brilliant wines also offer up extraordinary (and downright CRAZY) value in the world of red Burgundy.

Pimentiers  Les Pimentiers was planted in 1929.  The vineyard is centrally located on the low-lying plain of Savigny and is composed of clay-limestone with some rocks on top of sand. Destemming of grapes followed by cold maceration and fermentation for 15 to 20 days, aged for 12 to 15 months in 30% new French oak barrels.

88 points Burghound 2019 Savigny-lès-Beaune “Les Pimentiers Vieilles Vignes”: (from 90+ year old vines). A very subtle application of wood lurks in the background of the red and dark currant, plum and floral-scented nose. The sleek, delicious and attractively delineated flavors possess better volume though not necessarily better mid-palate density as this too is on the lighter side. This easy going and mildly rustic effort should also drink well on the younger side.

91 points View from the Cellar   The old-vine bottling of Pimentiers  is deeper and more structured than the Cuvée Reine Joly, but this is not atypical by any means, as this is always built like a fine premier cru. The bouquet is more reserved today, but shows impressive complexity to come, offering up a mix of dark berries, black cherries, pigeon, bitter chocolate, stony soil tones, Savigny spice tones, a touch of cedar and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with a fine signature of stony soil tones, ripe, well-integrated tannins and fine length and grip on the very well-balanced finish. This will take a good decade to really start to hit on all cylinders, but it is going to be outstanding once it has blossomed. 2028- 2060.

Narbantons Parcel planted in the 1950s on deep limestone and clay soils, with vines located at the start of the hillside; northern exposure All work is done by hand, including harvest. Partial whole cluster fermentation followed by cold maceration and fermentation for 15 to 20 days. Aged for12 to 18 months in 30% new French oak barrels

No reviews on current vintage, here are some older vintage reviews
92 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate   The 2017 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Narbantons will be one of the longer-lived wines in this year’s portfolio. Aromas of dark cherry fruit, cassis, baking chocolate and spices preface a medium to full-bodied, concentrated wine with chewy structure and a deep, dense core. This has good potential but will demand a little patience. 

93 points, View from the Cellar  The 2017 Narbantons from Monsieur Camus was raised in about thirty-five percent new oak, as there is one, new, six hundred liter cask, five older barrels and one new barrel utilized in the cuvée. The wine has turned out beautifully, delivering a fine aromatic constellation of pomegranate, red and black cherries, lovely spice tones, dark soil, bonfire, venison, vanillin oak and a touch of orange peel in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full, sappy and superbly focused, with lovely backend mineral drive, fine-grained tannins and excellent length and grip on the poised and nascently complex finish. An excellent Narbantons in the making. 2026-2065+.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *