Burgundy
Domaine Castagnier, Côte de Nuits
With the retirement of his father Guy in 2007, the talented, young musician Jérôme Castagnier turned his artistic passion toward the family business. After several years assisting his father, the accomplished classical and jazz trumpet player now divides his time between conducting a respected Burgundy-based orchestra and directing Domaine Castagnier's winemaking. The transition has been as smooth as the dulcet tones of Jérôme's horn, as Domaine Castagnier was recently honored with the maximum selection of five wines from the 2006 vintage by France's Guide Hachette.
Much of the Castagnier's success can be attributed to the magnificent vineyards assembled by Jérôme's renown and respected maternal grandfather Gilbert Vadey, who bought several well-situated Côte de Nuits parcels after World War II. Castagnier's plots in the grand crus Charmes-Chambertin and Clos de la Roche feature 65-year-old Pinot vines. The domaine's village parcel called Les Seuvrées in Gevrey-Chambertin is 60-years-old, and the village parcel in Chambolle-Musigny was planted all the way back in 1934. The majority of Castagnier's third AC village parcel is actually planted in the Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru vineyard Aux Chezeaux, but the plot is so small the family has traditionally made only one wine from it.
While most of the domaine's holdings are in high rent Burgundy appellations, Jérôme takes equal pride in tending the family's small mixed parcel of Pinot and Gamay used to make Bourgogne Passetoutgrains, which was one of the five Castagnier wines selected for the 2009 Guide Hachette.
Domaine Facts
| Vines & Wines: | Approximately 10 acres divided among several small Côte de Nuits parcels Sustainably farmed (lutte raisonnée) Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru: 1 acre (65-year-old vines) Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru: 1.24 acres (40-year-old vines) Clos de la Roche Grand Cru: 1.43 acres (65-year-old vines) Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru: 0.86 acre (35-year-old vines) Bonnes Mares Grand Cru: 0.74 acre (35-year-old vines) Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru: 1.24 acres (40-year-old vines) Gevrey-Chambertin Les Seuvrées: 0.62 acre (60-year-old vines) Morey-Saint-Denis: 0.5 acre mostly within 1er Cru Aux Chezeaux (35-year-old vines) Chambolle-Musigny: 0.82 acre planted in 1934 Bourgogne Passetoutgrains: 0.77 acre only a short distance from Castagnier family house (planted to 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Gamay) |
| Soil: | Multi-strata limestone and marl with high content of ancient marine fossils |
| Harvest: | Manual harvest using small bins with strict selection in vineyard. Jérôme instructs his pickers to drop any grapes they would not eat. |
| Yields: | 42-45 hectoliters/hectare maximum for Grand Crus 48-50 hectoliters/hectare on average for village wines |
| Vinification & Elevage: |
All fruit is destemmed. A combination of new, one-year-old and two-year-old barrels used for both fermentation and aging, with no more than one-third being new. Wines are racked only twice; once after malo-lactic and again one month before bottling. No fining and no filtration. |
| Annual Production: | 14,400 bottles / 1,200 cases |