Chambertin Grand Cru 2023 Domaine Bertagna

The Chambertin Grand Cru 2023 from Domaine Bertagna is the most noble and precious cuvée from this historic Vougeot house, and one of the rarest bottles on the entire Côte de Nuits. Recognised for its depth and ageing potential that place it among Burgundy's greatest wines, this Chambertin is fresh and elegant, still marked by youth, with undoubted potential to reveal itself in time. A wine of great aromatic complexity, driven by a structure rich in dark fruit aromas that reconciles power with elegance.

The legendary terroir

Chambertin is one of Burgundy's two greatest crus, brother to Clos de Bèze, its reputation spanning centuries and continents. Napoleon Bonaparte was devoted to it and always carried bottles on his military campaigns. Domaine Bertagna's parcel is among the most confidential of the appellation, from a small vineyard tended with the same organic rigour as the entire domaine. Chambertin's terroir is mythical for its exceptional richness, due to a geological phenomenon called a debris cone. This complex terroir is marked by brown calcareous soils rich in iron oxides, over an argilo-calcareous subsoil of remarkable depth and geological complexity. This geological richness origins the ripe aromas, fleshy richness and delicate, racy tannins that distinguish Chambertin from all its Grand Cru neighbours. Viticulture is organic, with strict yield control through disbudding and green harvesting. Harvesting is by hand with rigorous selection in vineyard and on table. Vinification follows the domaine's signature for its Grand Crus: complete destemming, slow and long fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, indigenous yeasts exclusively. Ageing runs 16 to 18 months in French oak, 100% new barrels.

Tasting profile

The colour is a dark, deep red with purple reflections, density and opacity that announce the wine's grandeur. The nose reveals aromas of very ripe fruit with absolute intensity and precision: preserved black cherry, wild blackberry, blackcurrant, plum, with spiced notes of liquorice, cedar and a light smoky touch, the classic aromatic signatures of Chambertin. On this 2023 vintage, still marked by youth, primary dark fruit aromas dominate and invite patience. On the palate, the material is rich, deep and fleshy, driven by delicate, racy tannins of remarkable silky texture, and fresh acidity well-integrated that brings tension, length and the extraordinary ageing potential characteristic of this mythical terroir. The finish is long, ample and persistent, of a depth and complexity that confirm the grandeur of this cru. Leave untouched before 2030, and destined for the next thirty years.

The domaine

Domaine Bertagna is located in Vougeot, at the heart of the Côte de Nuits, its buildings adjoining the former Cistercian Chapter that founded Clos de Vougeot in the 13th century. Founded by Claude Bertagna, acquired in 1982 by the German Reh family, it is today directed by Eva Reh-Siddle and Denis Rozat leading production, across 17 hectares covering 18 appellations including 5 remarkable Grand Crus. A domaine among the most respected on the Côte de Nuits, regularly recognised for the quality, consistency and precision of its wines.

Food pairings

This Chambertin Grand Cru will pair magnificently with the noblest dishes of French gastronomy: jugged hare perfumed with black truffle, roasted woodcock on canapé, Wagyu beef fillet with Burgundy truffle jus, braised Bresse capon with morels and truffles, or game such as venison saddle with wild berries. A minimum two-hour decanting is essential in its youth. Served between 15 and 17°C, it will gradually reveal, over years and decades, all the grandeur, depth and absolute nobility of the Côte de Nuits' most illustrious terroir.