Glimpse the Future: The 2023 Burgundy Vintage from Domaine de Cromey
The 2023 Burgundy Vintage from Domaine de Cromey's Le Clos Vineyard
The town of Couches, with its captivating historic castle, is located to the southwest of Domaine de Cromey (the home of Elden Selections in Burgundy). Cromey is therefore situated within the Couches commune, in the Autun arrondissement, and we have a special connection to the wines of this region. Our very own vineyard in the grounds of Cromey lies within this promising appellation. The Couchois appellation wines are produced by six communes, and although they might not be as wellknown as their neighbors, they certainly deserve recognition.
We worked with Domaine AMI (producers in the village next to us, and whose name translates as "friend" in French) to transform the land on our estate and begin growing vines ourselves. We followed their organic and biodynamic methods, which result in wonderfully appetizing wines, each with its own distinct character a hallmark of all the wines featured on BurgundyWine.com by Elden Selections.
This means our wines are produced using biodynamic methods in a vineyard that has never been treated with chemical fertilizers or pesticides. We are excited to support the development of this fascinating appellation as it strives for greatness, and we now have very exciting news of our own to share on this…
The Cromey wine label, 2022 vintage. 2023 is just about ready to be bottled...
Elden’s Dennis Sherman on Cromey’s Incredible 2023 Vintage
Those of you who follow us here at the Domaine de Cromey know that there is something remarkable coming to be, day by day, on the upper slopes of the estate. Five years ago, we planted seven acres of Bourgogne Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on a vineyard, known as Le Clos. The land was an old vineyard, part of the estate then known as The Chateau. It had not had vines on it for over 70 years, meaning that the soil was untouched by chemicals, making it ideal for the production of an organic wine. It has become the jewel in the crown of the Cromey ethic.
There was a tiny, discreet harvest in 2022, of the three year old vines. This is the very first wine from the vineyard that we planted at the Domaine de Cromey in the Couchois region of Burgundy, just beyond the southern tip of the Cote de Beaune. Just in their infancy the vines yielded enough white grapes to make a few barrels; an experiment of sorts to see what the land would give us. We don't know why we were surprised when we got impressive pure fruit, masked at first by a smokiness from reductive winemaking and bottling, giving us a wine that is surprisingly well balanced for such a young one. Quiet optimism prevailed among the team at Cromey and our winemakers. And, because the vineyard is a good bit higher up in the hills than the adjacent vines in Santenay and the Maranges, it is likely to be well positioned for the future, particularly as things warm up!
So yes, we really do think this wine has great promise! But the real test would come with the 2023 Burgundy vintage.We were not expecting it. But it’s good, so good that it is being bottled right now and will be in the US early in 2025.
But wait, wait… there’s more to this wine journey. Living in Burgundy and spending our whole lives immersed in the wine world, we have taken our ideas, lessons learned and feedback from many of our Burgundy wine clients all across the US and channelled all of this into a serious winemaking endeavour of our own: First up, we are producing a Domaine de Cromey Beaune 1er Cru ‘Champimont’, in collaboration with the winemakers from AMI who work our vineyards at Cromey. It’s the beginning of a new era in our already rich thirty five year journey in Burgundy.
Tasting Notes from The 2023 Burgundy Vintage
Domaine De Cromey Bourgogne ‘Le Clos’ 2023 Monopole
Blanc: With brilliant clarity and visible density, and a hint of greenygold, the first attack is background floral and citrus, a classic chardonnay fruit profile, pure and grassy, slightly saline, with charming reductive smokiness. It’s persistent and subtle at the same time. A fresh, charming example of white Burgundy…
Rouge: Deep ruby in color, with chewy tannins that suggest infusion rather than maceration, this is a good example of everything Pinot Noir has to offer in the 2023 Burgundy vintage: Good balance, velvety texture, ripe and rich. It’s young still, but it’s got ‘stuffing’, and the balance of acid, tannin and fruit that promises something special.
Further Thoughts on The 2023 Burgundy Vintage
The 2023 harvest in Burgundy was quite successful all in all, despite the challenges of heat, drought, and flooding in neighboring areas. There were some patches of hail damage in Meursault and the Chalonnaise, but overall the harvest came through unscathed.
The total volume produced for the 2023 Burgundy vintage was 1.9 million hectolitres, which equates to about 253 million bottles. This marks an increase of nearly 30% compared to the average production volumes for the region, and a rise of 9% from the previous year. Many experienced observers have linked these significant production variations to climate change.
Why do we place such importance on harvesting conditions and vintage from year to year? Because in this part of the world, the wines are mostly made from a single variety of grape. This means that each piece of land gives each year's wine its unique personality and characteristics. Grape varieties grown in Burgundy, like Pinot Noir, are especially sensitive to weather conditions that can impact acidity levels and, consequently, the taste of the wine. Thus we spend many nervous hours tracking them and trying to interpret the signs for a glimpse of what the wines might be like in the future…
Experience These Wines (and Many More!) in Our Tasting Room
Our tasting room is an integral part of the historic building at Cromey. We took huge pride in preserving the original construction while adding modern updates to create a welcoming space for wine tasting. A short walk from the tasting room leads to the main dining room at Cromey, where you can experience the impressive wine press dating back to the early 19th century.
Tasting wine in the very place where it was made and aged captures something unique about Burgundy wine that can't be replicated elsewhere, especially when enjoyed with Burgundian cuisine. Many of our customers come here to establish a personal connection between Elden wines and their place of origin. We occasionally offer face to face and virtual tastings with our producers, so be on the lookout for details about those!
To read more fascinating guides on wine and how to buy the best every time, head over to our BurgundyWine.com blog here. Or to read more about life in the Burgundy, the amazing vacations you can have here, and the endless list of things to do and places to see, why not bookmark our Domaine de Cromey Burgundy Vacation blog here?