Bruno Clair established his domaine in 1979 with a few plots from his family's Clair-Daü estate in Marsannay, and has since built it into one of Burgundy's most respected names, with around 27 hectares running from Marsannay to Savigny-lès-Beaune. Sons Edouard and Arthur now direct production, farming sustainably and organically.
Of the domaine's several Marsannay lieux-dits, Les Grasses Têtes delivers the most power and structure. The vineyard sits on a moderate east to south-east facing slope above the village, where heavy, iron-rich red clay full of angular gravel and large stones covers a limestone base. The Pinot Noir vines in the domaine's scattered parcels were planted mostly between 1969 and 1973.
Vinification uses a significant portion of whole clusters and wild-yeast fermentation in open wooden vats, followed by 18 to 20 months in barrel with roughly 40 percent new oak. It is a generous, firmly structured Marsannay with plenty of depth of fruit.
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