Beaune 1er Cru le Clos des Mouches Rouge 2018 - Domaine Chanson

Domaine Chanson

French History in a bottle

The Domaine Chanson is a true monument of Burgundy wine history. Founded in 1750 by Simon Véry (sometimes spelled "Verry"), this wine estate is a pure concentrate of French History. Among its most famous customers, you can spot some names like François-Marie Arouet (a.k.a. Voltaire), Alphonse de Lamartine, Napoléon Bonaparte… Since its creation, the estate has taken up quarters in the Bastion de l'Oratoire (a Historic Monument, sometimes also called "La Tour des Filles"; "The Daughters' Tower" in English), a former defense tower located in Beaune. It was built a few years after the siege of the city, when King Louis XI seized all the Dukes of Burgundy's assets, in 1478. It was another king, Louis XV, who gave Simon free access to the building, which used to be a weapons cache, a stable for horses, and military barracks, all in one. Today, it's become one of the very few wine cellars that's not hidden underground, since the bottles are stored on four different levels.

In the 19th century, the Domaine Chanson got its actual name, as it was now managed by a man called Alexis Chanson, one of the Véry family's partners. The Chanson family owns many vineyards, on the communes of Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses and Savigny-lès-Beaune. Their philosophy has always been to preserve the integrity of Burgundy wines by letting the Beaune terroir express itself freely. In memory of Alexis, the esteemed founding father of the estate, one of the many cuvées produced bears his name and his likeness.

The Domaine Chanson was bought by the Bollinger champagne group in 1999. Three years later, in 2002, the Bollinger family chose Gilles de Courcel as the new estate's manager. He's aided in his task by the famous oenologist Jean-Pierre Confuron. Since 2017, Chanson is also HVE certified (for "High Environmental Value"), thanks to the many efforts deployed by the estate regarding organic winemaking. The estate produces around a million bottles each year and owns more than two dozens of different wine appellations, growing on 45 hectares of vineyard on the Côte de Beaune. Most of these appellations are grands crus and premiers crus. The level of quality has actually increased so much since the buyout by Bollinger that Chanson is now able to compete with some huge wine estates, such as Drouhin and Jadot.

Discover the wines from the Domaine Chanson.