Dom. Bruno Clair
Gevrey Petite Chapelle Premier Cru
Gevrey-Chambertin
2016

The producer

Domaine Bruno Clair was the spawn of the great Clair-Dau domaine dismantled through family disputes in 1985. Although the domaine is located in the most northerly commune of Marsannay, Bruno Clair inherited vineyards from Marsannay to Chambolle-Musigny, many exceptional plots of Grand Cru level. Over the next decade or more he added perfectly sited vines from Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanee, Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses ans Savigny-les-Beaune.

Bruno Clair, along with his winemaker Philippe Brun, has developed the reputation of a humble superstar among his Burgundian peers, and worldwide following for wines with an exceptional purity and expression of their individual terroirs.

Along with his outstanding Bonnes Mares from Chambolle Musigny, Clair’s Chambertin-Clos de Beze is one of his stellar vinifications … a wine of structure and power coupled with elegance and finesse. He is also one of the star producers that lift the Premier Cru Clos-Saint Jacques into Grand Cru territory.  

The wine

Bruno Clair owns 0.25 hectares in the Petite Chapelle premier cru, which lies at 265 meters altitude, with south-east exposure, and with soil rich in limestone and white oolites. Vines were planted in 1967. Clair tends to use up to 50% whole bunches depending on the vintage, and ferments in wooden vats, after which the wines are aged in oak barrels, of which around 35% are new, for 18-20 months. Black and red fruit scented, with spice and earthy complexity, this is a wine of firm structure, with lively acidity and generous length.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.