Inside the Great Tower
Domaine Chanson
(Beaune)
Chanson is one of the classic big merchant houses in Beaune that owns many vineyards, especially in various Beaune Premier Cru climates. Chanson was founded in 1750 and is at present celebrating its 250 years anniversary - a long time for a Negociant business. The wines have been stored in one of the four ramparts of the city wall since 1774; the most spacious of them is the Bastion de l'Oratoire of Chanson. It features eight metre thick walls, which keep the temperature inside at a constant level of between 12 and 14 degrees Celsius.
According to Chanson more than a complete year's harvest of all the Beaune vineyards could be stored inside the tower. Chanson believes that this is the tower with the greatest diameter in the whole of France. The merchant house added two floors in 1826, and the wines begin their maturity period in barrels on the top floor. Quite contrary to a cellar one walks upwards but still has the feeling to be in a deep cool cellar. At Chanson's the strategy is to concentrate on the fruit content of the wines and to accentuate the differences of the various climates. They follow a traditional approach, whereby the style of modern wine production is put into account without yielding to short-term fashion.
The domain includes 38 hectares of vineyards in Premier Cru and Grand Cru climates. The main emphasis is on climates in Beaune (27 hectares). Chanson is one of those estates in which the different properties of the Beaune Terroirs can be studied in an excellent way. Thibaut Marion Chanson, the young sales manager, compiled the following selection for us, which we sampled inside the Bastion.
Bottle samples:
red:
Rully 1997
Berries. Good tannin, red apples, good. Warm.
Savigny-Dominode 1er Cru 1997
Berry red. Earthy, dark fruit. Very good.
Pernard Vergeleses Les Vergeleses 1er Cru 1997
Wild berries. More acidity. Fine tobacco and spices.
Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Marconnets 1997
Climate north of Beaune on the border of Savigny, which requires long storage times.
Appealing red. Some elderberry, leathery, dark. Pungent tannin. Cherry. Keen on the tongue.
Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches 1997
A climate south of Beaune towards Pommard.
Rather dark. Spices, blackcurrants. Tobacco, high in tannin. Good structure. Fine.
Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Féves 1991
The climate is a monopoly of Chanson's which provides one of the most important domain wines of the estate. One of the best climates of Beaune.
Full-bodied in the mouth, touches of leather, dark fruit. Good on tannin. Truffle. Strawberry red. Beginning maturity. Aromatic. Strawberry, soil, good fruit. Venison.
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combe aux Moines 1997
From the selection for the 250 years anniversary of Chanson's.
Brilliant cherry red. Spices, venison. Very young. Tobacco-like tannin. Some wood. Slight green tones.
white:
Viré-Clessé 1998
From the selection for the 250 years anniversary of Chanson's.
Fruity, mild, balanced. Lemon fruit.
Montagny 1er Cru 1998
Fatter than the above one, butter, mineral. Good in acidity. Some acridity. Not very long.
Savigny-Marconnets 1er Cru 1997
Flowers, some marzipan. Very fine, full-bodied. Some acridity. Flint in the finish.
Chablis 1er Cru Vaucoupins 1998
Classic, mineral Chablis without wood and a good finish. The wine is fermented slowly to extract more aromas.
Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches 1998
The highest parts of the Clos des Mouches climate, which also yields an aromatic Pinot Noir (see above), are used for Chardonnay and produce a famous Beaune white wine of Chanson's.
Terroir. Flint. Roast aromas. Spicy, complex, fine in acidity. Will be mature in two to three years' time.
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