"The 2014 Chambolle Musigny les Charmes 1er Cru has one of the most exotic bouquets from La Pousse d'Or: macerated red cherries, orange peel and dried fig, nicely defined and just a little heady! The palate is succulent on the entry with supple, fine tannin. Here, there is a mixture of red and black fruit, whereas other cuvées lean towards the latter. It feels more harmonious in the mouth, perhaps more approachable with a persuasive, silky texture on the finish. This is very well crafted." 91-93 Neal Martin
Alfred Hitchcock adored Burgundy, his cellar in Bel Air, Los Angeles contained a lot, but it was Chambolle-Musigny that was his favourite and that made up the majority of his collection.
Regarded as producing some of the most elegant wines in the Côte de Nuits, with rich concentration of fruit - though they tend to be a little lighter in colour. The village has two Grand Cru vineyards, Musigny which is rich and silky and Bonnes Mares (shared with Morey-St-Denis) which is firmer and broader, with impeccable ageing potential.
The wines of Chambolle are first and foremost models of elegance and finesse. They have a medium robe and a generous nose of raspberries, strawberry confit, violets, and underbrush. The palate is market by fine tannins and a soft mouthfeel. They are not very acidic but rather make an impression by their fleshiness. The Premier Cru are more concentrated and are often quite firm. Some of the grand cru are powerful and robust (Bonnes Mares), while others are supple, voluptuous, and distinguished (Musigny).
Domaine de la Pousse d’Or was established in the commune of Volnay in 1964 by a consortium including Louis Seysses (the father of Jacques Seysses of Domaine Dujac) and Gerard Potel, though it can trace its lineage back to the Dukes of Burgundy in 1100. Pousse d'Or has enjoyed a strong following in Australia, because two groups of Australians including Moss Wood founder Bill Pannell and the late David Clarke AO, of Poole’s Rock and Macquarie Bank were involved as shareholders during the 80s and 90s.
Sadly, Gerard Potel, who is still revered in Burgundy, died in 1997 and the Australian shareholders sold the domaine to Patrick Landanger, an industrialist who made his fortune manufacturing surgical and orthopaedic instruments. Over the last twenty years, Landanger has expanded the domaine from 13ha to nearly 19ha having acquired nearly 2ha of Corton rouge grand crus in 1998, 0.73ha of Puligny-Montrachet Caillerets in 2004 and, most importantly, Landanger purchased the 3.5 ha Moine-Hudelot estate in Chambolle which included some Les Amoureuses Bonnes Mares.
With its state of the art, gravity fed winery, the introduction of Italian amphora for three of the Volnay premier crus, and with his son, Benoît, now calling the shots, this important domaine is firing on all cylinders.
