In Burgundy, the best wines are the direct reflection of their terroir. The better the wine, the tinier the surface. Griotte-Chambertin is the perfect example : a minuscule square-shaped parcel, less than 3 hectares (7.5 acres) and the place where a remarkable wine is produced. 

Its intrinsic qualities are elusive and only viticulture can bring them out, thanks to the painstaking and difficult cultivation of the Pinot Noir grape. 

The rules are simple but exacting : close density, severe pruning, ploughing and practically no fertilizers. The grapes are still picked by hand and very gently pressed. The juice is then left to ferment in a large wooden vat. The skins and pips rise to the surface, creating a thick lid called chapeau (hat). Twice a day, once in the morning, once in the evening (just like in the old days), this chapeau is punched down manually, and some of the juice pumped over. This process allows the tannins, perfumes and colouring matter to blend harmoniously throughout and to maximize the full potential of the terroir. The fermentation lasts about 18 to 20 days. The must is then put in oak barrels (Allier, Vosges or Tronçais forests) where, during the Winter, a second fermentation takes place. 

Left to age for about 18 months, the wine is fined with egg-whites prior to bottling, a technique left unchanged through the years and deemed best adapted to a Grand Cru like Griotte-Chambertin. 

Tasting Griotte-Chambertin always demands our full attention. The aromas are complex and subtle. There are some delicate flavours of cherry syrup and wild berries mingled with fine leather and delicate spices. With an older wine, truffle tones emerge. On the palate, the same reflexion is required : the tannins for instance may be abundant, but they do not intrude or misbehave. A soft, velvety texture never betrays an excess of alcohol since a fair amount of acidity plays its contrapunctual role. 
The wine is very long-lasting : some of the flavours experienced in the nose reappear at the end, harmonizing themselves elegantly with a faint woody taste. 

The most refined cuisine is of course a must with Griotte-Chambertin : the highest grade of prime meat, the finest sauces and the ripest cheeses. The age of the wine is, of course, a determining factor : more subtle dishes are preferred with an older wine (8 to 15 years of age, for instance). 

Griotte-Chambertin is the wine for the greatest celebrations.