Bruno Clavelier said that he began the harvest on 5 September with his Corton, and he completed the harvest on 12 September. He characterized the malic acidities as low but correct. Volume was a little more in 2017 than 2018 because hail damage affect some of the vineyards in the latter vintage. In both years, he did some green harvesting to limit yields.
He used a large portion of of stems in 2017, about 50%. Malo-lactic fermentations were early for these wines, beginning in December and January, and finishing by February and March.
Clavelier has organic essentially always and has been biodynamic for about two decades. Simply put, this is a most dependable estate for great wines at every level.
2017 Bourgogne-Aligoté
Aligoté is justly beginning to receive the attention it has deserved for some time, and Clavelier consistently makes an outstanding one. The vines here are 90 years-old and a massale selection that contains Aligoté Doré but also other types of Aligoté vines. The wine sees no wood and no SO2 is added until just prior to bottling. The wine is pure, mineral calm, smooth, and fresh. 35 hl/ha here in 2017, very low for any wine, and especially a regional one. 88/A
2017 vin de table Chardonnay Les Glapigny
From vines that are about 70 years-old, this wine is light and pure with Chardonnay flavors and lots of charm. Raised in oak, none of which is new. 87/A
2017 Bourgogne-Passetoutgrains
The Bourgogne-Passetoutgrains is fresh, pure, and energetic with red fruits. The wine is light and charming. 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Gamay, raised 30-40% in old wood, the rest in tank. 88/A
2017 Vosne-Romanée Les Hauts de Beaux Monts
The first of Clavelier’s village Vosnes, the Hauts de Beaux Monts is smooth, pure, long, and mineral with extraordinary precision and lightness of texture. The vines here are on soils without clay and very high, and it shows in the lightness of texture. (91-93)
2017 Vosne-Romanée La Combe Brûlée
This wine is mineral with more weight than the Hauts de Beaux Monts. It shows depth, elegance, and a silky texture. The red fruits are both precise and long. For now, this wine is less forward than the Hauts des Beaux Monts, but equally impressive. The vines here are about 85 years-old, and the yield was around 30 hl/ha. (91-93)
2017 Vosne-Romanée Les Hautes-Maizières
Not on the top of the slope like the two previous wines and with 50-60 cm of clay above the limestone base, the Hautes-Maizières is of a completely different character than the two previous Vosnes. The nose shows lavender, herbs, and some truffles. The mouth is bigger with spicy, pure, mineral red fruits, and there is excellent length here on the finish. (92-94)
2017 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux
The Gevrey-Corbeaux has a velvet texture, lightness in the mouth, red fruits, and finesse. At this time, it did not show quite the precision of the Vosnes. (91-94)
2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulées
Clavelier’s Vosne-Brulées is light, energetic, pure, and precise with deep violets and red and dark fruits. Outstanding finesse here. (93-95)
2017 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts
The Vosne-Beaux Monts is penetrating and calm with great finesse, lightness on the palate, red and dark fruits, and the minerality of Beaux Monts. (93-95)
2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Noirots
The Chambolle-Noirots is light but dense with depth, purity, great finesse. Some firmness comes in at the end of the mouth. Very old vines here, ranging from 45 years to 85 years-old. (93-95)
2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Combe d’Orveaux
Musigny, one of the greatest of Burgundy vineyards, is flanked to the east and partly to the north by Amoureuses and to the south and to the south by Combe d’Orveaux (in fact, part of the Combe d’Orveaux lieu-dit is classified as Musigny). Amoureuses has long, if not always, been more famous than Combe d’Orveaux. Perhaps the greater fame of Amoureuses is due to the fact that several important Musigny owners — de Vogüé, Mugnier, Drouhin, Roumier, and Jadot — all have long had vines in both Musigny and Amoureuses; in contrast, only two Musigny owners — Prieur and Faiveley — have vines also in Combe d’Orveaux (and because of the small holdings of the one or the other vineyard, rare are the visitors that taste both vineyards at Prieur or Faiveley). But Amoureuses has its own style quite apart from Musigny, whereas Combe d’Orveaux is very much in the style of Musigny, and that certainly is the case with this wine. The wine features blueberry fruit, a smooth and velvet texture, density, depth, and freshness. So get yourself a bargain quasi-Musigny (indeed, as Bruno Clavelier is fond of pointing out, his plot of Combe d’Orveaux sold as Musigny in 1855). (94-96)
2017 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Cras
Less well-known than Combe d’Orveaux, but also capable of producing grand cru quality in Clavelier’s hands, the Nuits-Cras is spicy and pure with a velvet texture and mineral dark fruits. There’s less richness in this wine than the Combe d’Orveaux but, as one would expect from Nuits, even from the Vosne slope, there is more richness here. (94-96)
2017 Corton Le Rognet
Last, the Corton is smooth and deep with dark fruits and finesse that is unusual for Corton. Very good length here. (93-96)