Domaine du Chancelier, Pinot Noir, Bourgogne Côte d’Or, 'En Coulezain', Old Vines

I taste a lot of red Burgundy. And for those of you newer to wine—especially those of you who caught me live on Barstool’s The Yak last week and are new to these emails—this is the region in France where Pinot Noir is widely considered the greatest expression of the grape on earth. That said, Burgundy is not an easy place to love blindly. You often have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the prince. Too many bottles in the $40–$60 range promise romance and deliver very little—thin, muted wines that leave you wondering what all the fuss is about.

Then there are wines like this. Bottles that immediately remind you why Burgundy remains the gold standard. Intense perfume, deep savory nuance, and a true sense of place—this is Pinot Noir at its most compelling. Wines like this will make you want to “get into Burgundy” and start spending your excess funds chasing that next great discovery. When old vines are deeply rooted in Burgundy’s complex soils, planted to historic clones and handled with restraint, the results can be genuinely magical. Under Domaine du Chancelier, that magic has been captured beautifully. This is a young domaine that has absolutely nailed its vision—and already has a serious following in France for very good reason.

Burgundy stretches roughly north to south, beginning just southeast of Paris, from Chablis through the Côte d’Or and down into the Mâconnais and Beaujolais. Yet its heart and soul live in the narrow limestone spine of the Côte d’Or. This famed escarpment is divided into two legendary halves: the Côte de Nuits to the north, known for powerful, age-worthy reds, and the Côte de Beaune to the south, celebrated for world-class whites and some of the most refined red wines ever made. Beaune sits almost perfectly at the center of this axis—historically, commercially, and culturally—and it’s here, in the old historic core of the city, that Domaine du Chancelier calls home, working out of a centuries-old cellar that anchors their work firmly in Burgundy’s past.

What makes Burgundy truly singular is its geology: fractured limestone, marl, clay, and ancient marine sediments layered and folded over millions of years. These subtle shifts—sometimes changing within a few steps—are why Burgundy prizes site above all else. The vineyard leads; the winemaker’s role is simply not to get in the way.

Founded by Elsa and Cédric Ehrhart, Domaine du Chancelier is a young estate with deep historical roots. Their cellar and winery are housed in an 18th-century building once owned by Nicolas Rolin and Guigone de Salins, founders of the Hospices de Beaune—a deliberate choice meant to honor Burgundy’s heritage while forging a thoughtful path forward. After producing their first vintage in 2016 from purchased fruit, the Ehrharts slowly acquired parcels across Burgundy, releasing their first estate-grown wines in 2020. Today they farm roughly five hectares, working entirely organically across both owned vineyards and long-term contracted plots where they control farming, harvest dates, and picking themselves. Everything is done by hand, yields are modest, and soils are treated as living ecosystems rather than agricultural inputs.

In the cellar, the approach is precise and restrained. The winery is fully gravity-fed to avoid unnecessary manipulation. Whites are pressed directly and barrel-fermented with native yeasts, without chaptalization, acidification, or sulfur additions, then aged on fine lees. Reds are fully destemmed and fermented gently in stainless steel and barrel, with select lots using vinification intégrale—fermented and aged entirely in barrel for the softest possible extraction. Across the board, sulfur is avoided until bottling, allowing site and vintage to show through with clarity.

“En Coulezain” comes from older vines on the eastern side of Volnay, a village long regarded as one of the great Pinot Noir terroirs on earth, prized for wines of perfume, finesse, and depth. While this is labeled Bourgogne Côte d’Or, make no mistake—this is village-level material in everything but name. Old vines, limestone-driven soils, and disciplined farming come together here in a way that dramatically overdelivers for the category.

In the glass, the 2022 “En Coulezain” pours a luminous ruby, opening with striking aromas of wild strawberry, goji berry, red cherry, crushed raspberry, and rose-petal candy, layered over deeper notes of forest floor, dried herbs, and wet stone. On the palate, it’s energetic and finely etched—medium-bodied, with fresh, mouthwatering acidity and silky tannins that give the wine shape without weight. The finish is delicious: long, savory, and quietly persistent, the kind that keeps pulling you back for another sip.

This is a natural match for Coq au Vin, the classic Burgundian winter dish of chicken slowly braised in red wine with mushrooms, pearl onions, bacon, and herbs. The wine’s acidity cuts through the richness of the sauce, while its savory, earthy character echoes the dish’s depth and warmth—one of those pairings where everything clicks and both the food and the wine taste better for it. Serve slightly cool, around 60–65°F, in generous Burgundy stems, and let it open naturally as the meal unfolds—ideal for a long winter evening at the table.

This is not just a great bottle—it’s a clear signal that Domaine du Chancelier is a name you’ll be hearing a lot more about.