BRUNO CLAVELIER

Domaine Bruno Clavelier has very ancient origins, the estate was founded in the village of Vosne Romanée at the end of the 18th century. After the dark years that followed from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century (phylloxera, mildew and wars), the estate began to see the light of day under the leadership of Bruno's maternal grandfather, Joseph Brosson, who began to develop and expand the estate, even though, at the time, the entire production of the Domaine was sold in barrels to merchants, in particular to the Clavelier house, the Négociant estate of the family run by his father's branch. The Négociant Clavelier company still exists but no longer has any connection with the Domaine.

In 1987, after a career as a rugby player, Bruno Clavelier, a graduate of the University of Enology in Dijon, took over the reins of the company and began to write the history of the Domaine, producing the first vintage of Bruno Clavelier wines in 1992.

Today, Domaine Clavelier owns more than 6.5 hectares of vines located in the communes of Aloxe-Corton, Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle Musigny, Nuits St Georges and Vosnee Romanee. Most of the vines were replanted in the 1930s and 1940s immediately after the phylloxera epidemic and the oldest ones, the result of careful mass selection, are over 80 years old. The age of the vines allows a deep rooting in the soil, favouring a large surface area in contact with the mineral elements of the subsoil and a naturally very limited yield. These two factors, combined with the great cleanliness of the soil - no chemical products have been used since the 1970s - guarantee a raw material of the highest quality: the grapes produced are concentrated, healthy and balanced, especially in terms of acidity, an essential element in preserving the finesse of the great Burgundies.

The Ecocert-certified organic Domaine uses only organic fertilisers and a lot of manual work in the vineyard. In the cellar, fermentation takes place exclusively in open truncated oak vats using indigenous yeasts and lasts an average of three weeks, during which light manual punching-down is practised.

Bruno Clavalier's wines then undergo malolactic fermentation, naturally induced with the normal rise in temperatures during the following spring, and are then placed in small oak barrels, one third new wood, for about 18 months before being bottled by insufflating neutral gas, this to keep sulphur levels low. The wines are neither filtered nor clarified.

Domaine Bruno Clavelier is one of the few remaining wineries to separately vinify each of the Climats owned by the winery in the village of id Vosne Romanée, bringing the winery's line-up to some 15 different labels.

Today, Bruno Clavelier wines are among the most sought-after by lovers of great Burgundy wines, thanks to production based on a natural style with full respect for the terroir of origin.