Domaine Bruno Clair: Producer profile and 11 wines tasted

That the full story of the domaine is not widely known must be down to the modest nature of Bruno Clair and his native village of Marsannay, but wine lovers with a sense of Burgundian history will see the domaine for what it is: one of the region’s truly top-rank estates.

Just as it is likely only a matter of time before the INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine) approves the first premier crus for Marsannay, it is equally likely that thirsty Burgundy lovers will soon discover the delightful wines of this exceptional domaine.

Scroll down to see Charles Curtis MW’s tasting notes and scores for 11 wines from Domaine Bruno Clair

The story of Domaine Bruno Clair begins in the 19th century with the vines owned by the family of Marguerite Daü, who worked as a nurse during the First World War. Among her patients was a soldier from Santenay named Joseph Clair. The pair married in 1919 and worked the Daü family vineyard in her native Marsannay. Vinous history here is ancient – records date as far back as 612 AD to the reign of Amalgaire d’Arenberg, one of the first Dukes of Burgundy.

By the 19th century, however, the area between Dijon and Marsannay had fallen prey to the temptation of producing high-yielding Gamay and Aligoté for nearby industrial workers in Dijon. This state of affairs was much bemoaned by Dr Lavalle whose book, Histoire et Statistique de la Vignes des Grands Vins de la Côte d’Or (published in 1855 and which highlighted the importance of Burgundy’s climats) accounted for the slow start that Marsannay made in the modern era: the appellation was not created until 1987.

When the market for cheap and cheerful wines from Marsannay slowed due to competition from inexpensive wine from the south shipped in by rail, Joseph Clair had the hugely successful idea to produce a rosé of Pinot Noir for local consumption. He founded a cooperative to vinify the grape and grew his own vineyard holdings to almost 40ha. In the years following the Second World War, Clair left the cooperative he had founded and continued to expand his estate, purchasing plots in Gevrey premier cru Les Cazetiers, the Clos de Bèze, and Bonnes-Mares in 1950. In 1951 he was able to expand his holdings in Bonnes-Mares with a large share of the vines owned by Domaine Bélorgey.

Joseph Clair had three children: Bernard, Noëlle (who married a local industrialist) and Monique, who married André Bart of Domaine Bart. Bernard worked alongside his father as the pair continued to expand the family domaine. In 1954 they purchased 2ha of Gevrey premier cru Clos St-Jacques from the family of the Comte de Moucheron (who had owned it as a monopole until the death of his wife); in the same year, the family named their estate Domaine Clair-Daü.

The vineyard purchases continued, including vines in the Gevrey-Chambertin premier cru of Clos du Fonteny and a total of 0.92ha in Vosne-Romanée. There are 0.84ha in Aux Champs Perdrix in Nuits-St-Georges, directly upslope from La Tâche.

Bordering this to the north is premier cru Aux Reignots, where the Clair family owns just over seven ares. This amount is not enough for a full barrel and is normally blended into the village Aux Champs Perdrix. Because of the height on the slope, it is classified as village level, but given its location, it is among Burgundy’s best bargains.

In the same period, father and son also acquired 1.71ha in the excellent premier cru La Dominode in Savigny-lès-Beaune. Technically, La Dominode is located within mid-slope premier cru Les Jarrons, which faces due east. The portion called La Dominode belonged to the lords of Savigny under the ancien régime. These are the oldest vines the domaine possesses – the slope was first planted in 1902 and then partially replanted in the 1920s and the 1940s. This old-vine section is 1.14ha. The remainder was replanted in 1983 and is bottled by Clair as Savigny premier cru Les Jarrons.

In 1962, the family acquired another parcel of Chambertin-Clos de Bèze grand cru, where the vines stretch the entire length of the slope in the centre of the vineyard, bringing the Clair-Daü ownership here to 1.66ha in total. The 1960s were the most glorious period for Domaine Clair-Daü and the astoundingly delicious 1961 Clair-Daü Clos de Bèze shows well more than 50 years after the vintage.

After his father died in 1971, Bernard began to manage Domaine Clair-Daü, which at its peak totalled 38ha. Unfortunately, Bernard and his siblings could not agree on the direction of the estate. His son Bruno left to start his own domaine in 1978 with some vines in Marsannay, a few sharecropping agreements, and some sites high on the slope that had remained unplanted after phylloxera, including nearly a hectare of Morey-St-Denis En la Rue de Vergy above the Clos de Tart, the vines split between Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Domaine Clair-Daü was broken up in 1985, and the siblings each went their separate ways. Bernard’s sister Noëlle sold her share (including the rental agreement of her aunt’s vines) to Louis Jadot in 1985; his other sister Monique added her share to those of her husband André’s estate, and Bruno managed the balance of the vines, including most of the vines belonging to Bernard and his wife.

By 1986, he was at the head of a domaine of 17ha, although Bernard had rented his Bonnes-Mares to Fougeray de Beauclair out of loyalty since the grandfather of Jean-Louis Fougeray had worked closely with Joseph Clair.

Bruno continued to expand his domaine over the ensuing decades with purchases in Chambolle-Musigny, a plot of grand cru Corton-Charlemagne in 1993 and further vines Pernand. He also purchased vines in Gevrey-Chambertin premier cru Petite-Chapelle, and in 2019 he bought a parcel of Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes. Bruno has now taken back the leases to Bernard’s Bonnes-Mares and the vines that had been rented to Jadot in 1985, and the domaine today totals nearly 27ha spread over eight villages and produces wine in 32 different appellations.

Bruno is now joined by his sons Edouard and Arthur. Edouard worked initially alongside long-time cellarmaster Philippe Brun (now retired), and is now assisted by his younger brother Arthur under Bruno’s watchful gaze. The pair are helping to oversee the conversion to organic viticulture – the domaine has not used herbicides since the 1990s. The vines have been tilled manually, though increasingly they are ploughed less often and cover crops are used instead to encourage the microbial life of the soil.

The grapes are often picked on the early side, Bonnes-Mares first and the Clos de Bèze last. There is a pre-fermentation cold soak that can last a week, and a fermentation that begins with punching down and finishes with the wine being gently pumped over the cap. Since 2015, they have begun to use whole clusters in the fermentation, gradually increasing the percentage to 30%, sometimes more. After pressing, the wine is generally aged for 18-20 months in cask (up to half new for the reds), with most of the barrels coming from François Frères, Rousseau and Seguin Moreau.

Whites are fermented in cask (up to 20% new) or large oak uprights. Little sulphur is used (none before bottling for the whites). The rosé is still a particular specialty of the domaine. Half of the grapes destined for the rosé are pressed directly, while the balance does a cold soak for several days before pressing and fermentation and maturation in large and small casks for 10-12 months.

Domaine Bruno Clair must be judged as one of Burgundy’s top domaines. The quality and depth of the range are even more impressive when one considers the quiet, self-assured talent in the cellar, deep knowledge of the terroir, and the hard work it has taken to re-establish the heritage of Domaine Clair-Daü and to transmit it successfully to the next very able generation, whom we should all follow attentively.

See Charles Curtis MW’s notes and scores for 11 wines from Domaine Bruno Clair

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