In the latter part of the twentieth century, Chanson, a Beaune négociant dating to 1750, was known for tannic, old-style (not necessarily in the best sense of the term) wines.
In 1999, the Bollinger Champagne house acquired Chanson, including its vineyards. Following a labelling scandal shortly after the sale, Gilles de Courcel was hired to head up operations, and then Jean-Pierre Confuron was handed control over vineyard and winemaking operations. Confuron is the brother of Yves Confuron of Domaine Confuron-Cotétidot in Vosne-Romanée and of de Courcel’s eponymous estate in Pommard. Working with the same methods as the home estate in Vosne, such as late harvesting and use of all whole clusters. Horses are used to plough the vineyards, which are organically cultivated.
New oak is 30% for the wines, tending to François Frères for reds and Damy for whites.
Chanson now owns 45 ha, all on the Côte de Beaune, which in a normal year supplies about a quarter of the total production (which extends from Chablis down to the Beaujolais).
All of the wines below are estate wines except for the Gevrey-Chambertin and the Corton.
As this sampling of the reds (and the sampling of the whites to follow) shows, this is a producer worthy of your serious attention.
2016 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode
No village suffered worse from the 2016 frosts than Savigny, but this Savigny-Dominode is worth the search. The nose features rich dark fruits. The mouth shows minerality and dark fruits with richness of texture. 92/A
2016 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Les Vergelesses
From another village that suffered greatly from the frosts, this Pernand- Les Vergelesses is ample demonstration why the village is an excellent source of quality Burgundy at relatively good prices. The nose shows richness and dark fruit. The dark fruit continues in the mouth with richness of texture, length, and quality tannins. 92/A
2016 Beaune 1er Cru Grèves
The Beaune-Grèves is medium-weight and tannic with red and dark fruits. It was rather closed on the day that I tasted it. 89+/B
2016 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Fèves
This Chanson monopole has historically been known as one of the top vineyards in Beaune. The nose is floral and there is a touch of vanilla. The mouth has dark fruit and a sleek body with density, quality tannins, and a tongue-coating texture. 92(+)/A
2016 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches
The Beaune-Clos des Mouches is intense and dense with penetrating black raspberry fruit. The tannins are round and the wine has good length. 93+/A
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru La Perrière
From an excellent, but little-know premier cru, this wine has typical red fruits in a medium-light body with length, minerality, and a velvet texture. 93/A
2016 Corton
The Corton has red and dark fruits with length. There is good structure here, but it is not aggressive. This wine should be good for medium-term drinking. 93(+)/A-