Camus-Bruchon Gravains

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Camus-Bruchon Savigny-Les-Beaune 2019 1er cru aux Gravains (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.

From 50 year old vines, this is the most immediately accessible of the 1er Crus from Camus. Silky, earthy red fruit in droves.

90 points, Burghound:   Restrained purple fruit aromas display additional breadth in the form of floral, spice, and earth nuances. Here too there is more volume and punch to the more mineral-driven flavors that possess focused power on the linear and austere finish. This is also going to need a few years to unwind and add flesh as it’s presently somewhat strict.

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