Bruno Clavelier

From the Playing Field to the Vineyard

Bruno Clavelier played rugby for Dijon in the top French league before taking over his maternal grandfather's estate in the late 1980s. Joseph Brosson had painstakingly rebuilt the Domaine from 1935 onwards, following the devastation of phylloxera and the world wars – vine by vine, parcel by parcel. Bruno's first vintage under his own name appeared in 1992. Since then, the reserved winemaker has carefully expanded the estate: new cellar facilities, modern equipment such as pneumatic presses and sorting tables, but always with the aim of making the winemaker's signature invisible. "I seek neither colour nor tannin," he says. What he seeks: transparency, finesse, pure terroir. Bruno is taciturn and modest – he lets his wines speak for themselves.

Vines That Survived Phylloxera

Most of the Domaine's vines were planted in the 1930s and 1940s – immediately after the phylloxera catastrophe, when Burgundy's vineyards were painstakingly restored piece by piece. The oldest vines are now over 80 years old. They root deep in the chalky subsoil, naturally yield low crops and bear almost exclusively Pinot Noir Fin, the traditional Burgundy clone renowned for its finesse. Grandfather Brosson was already ahead of his time: he consistently eschewed synthetic chemicals and potassium fertilisers long before organic viticulture became fashionable. Bruno continues this path – since 1999 the Domaine has been certified organic (Ecocert), and since 2005 he has worked entirely biodynamically according to Demeter standards. Few estates in the Côte de Nuits proceed with such consistency, such as Trapet in Gevrey-Chambertin.

Purism in the Cellar

Fermentation takes place in open, conical oak vats, with up to 30 per cent whole bunches – a proportion Bruno varies depending on the vintage and parcel. Indigenous yeasts start the fermentation, manual punch-downs (pigeage) replace mechanical extraction. Fermentation lasts around three weeks, followed by natural malolactic fermentation in spring. The wines then rest for 16 to 18 months in barrels from Tronçais and Allier – only a third of them new, to prevent oak from taking centre stage. The crus are neither fined nor filtered, sulphur remains minimal, bottling is done under inert gas. The result: wines of crystalline purity and an almost translucent clarity that reveal the respective terroir as if through a magnifying glass.

The Range: Five Communes, Fifteen Climates

Bruno Clavelier's vineyards are spread across Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Aloxe-Corton – a remarkable portfolio for an estate of this size. Each climat is vinified separately, producing around 15 different wines per vintage. Highlights include the Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts with its velvety depth and notes of dark cherries, violets and fine smoke, the Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru La Combe d'Orveaux with its floral elegance and silky texture, and the Corton Grand Cru Le Rognet – the Domaine's only Grand Cru, grown on iron-rich soil that gives the wines a distinctive mineral spice and longevity. All wines carry the designation "Vieilles Vignes" – a testament to the precious legacy that Joseph Brosson established nearly a century ago.