{"product_id":"domaine-du-chancelier-bourgogne-hautes-cotes-de-beaune-rouge-la-rave-nord-vv-burgundy-france-2022","title":"Domaine du Chancelier, Bourgogne, Hautes-Cotes de Beaune Rouge, \"La Rave Nord VV\", Burgundy, France  2022","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOne of the great joys of Burgundy is discovering a wine that reminds you what made the region magical before the prices became detached from reality. That's exactly what happened when I tasted Domaine du Chancelier's La Rave Nord Vieilles Vignes. The wine comes from a tiny parcel of 55-year-old Pinot Noir vines planted high above the Côte de Beaune in the village of Meloisey, and it delivers something increasingly difficult to find in Burgundy today for around fifty dollars: soaring aromatics, old-vine depth, authenticity, and a genuine sense of place. This is the kind of bottle that Burgundy insiders quietly buy by the case while everyone else chases labels. The 2022 vintage brought beautiful ripeness to these elevated vineyards, and the result is a Pinot Noir that combines old-vine depth with the freshness and energy that make Burgundy so captivating.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTo understand why this wine is so compelling, it helps to understand Burgundy itself. The heart of the region is the Côte d'Or, a narrow limestone escarpment stretching south from Dijon and divided into two famous sections: the Côte de Nuits, home to many of the world's most revered Pinot Noirs, and the Côte de Beaune, where great Chardonnay and some of Burgundy's most soulful red wines are born. For centuries, the most prized vineyards occupied the middle slopes of this escarpment, where drainage, exposure, and sunlight aligned perfectly. Above them, climbing west toward the forests, lie the Hautes-Côtes. Historically these higher vineyards were often considered just a little too cool for consistent ripening. Today, however, Burgundy's warming climate has changed the equation. Sites that once struggled now sit in a remarkable sweet spot, producing wines with full flavor maturity while retaining the brightness, tension, and freshness that made Burgundy famous in the first place. Many of the region's smartest growers and collectors believe some of Burgundy's best values now come from these elevated vineyards overlooking the legendary villages below.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe village of Meloisey sits high above Volnay, Pommard, and Auxey-Duresses on the western side of the Côte de Beaune. From these hillsides, you look down upon some of the most celebrated vineyards in France. Domaine du Chancelier's La Rave Nord parcel is planted on a predominantly clay hillside and farmed organically, with an impressive density of 10,000 vines per hectare. The vines average more than 55 years of age, forcing their roots deep into the hillside in search of water and nutrients. The combination of old vines, elevation, clay-rich soils, and cooler exposures gives the wine a remarkable balance of concentration and elegance. There is substance here, certainly, but also the lift and perfume that separates great Pinot Noir from merely good Pinot Noir.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDomaine du Chancelier is one of Burgundy's most exciting young estates. Elsa and Cédric Ehrhart founded the domaine in 2016 and established their winery inside a beautifully restored 18th-century building in the historic center of Beaune that once belonged to Nicolas Rolin and Guigone de Salins, the founders of the Hospices de Beaune. From the beginning, their vision was to honor Burgundy's traditions while embracing meticulous organic farming and minimalist cellar practices. Today they farm roughly five hectares, combining estate-owned vineyards with long-term contracted parcels that they manage themselves from pruning through harvest. Their gravity-fed winery minimizes handling, every vineyard is harvested by hand, and the entire philosophy revolves around allowing terroir to speak clearly through the wines.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the cellar, the Ehrharts continue that restrained approach. The fruit is harvested entirely by hand and rigorously sorted before being fermented without sulfur additions. The wine spends twenty-one days in a stainless steel tank with gentle extraction and carefully controlled temperatures before aging on its fine lees for roughly twelve months in French oak barrels, 20% of which are new. The goal is not power or makeup, but purity. Every decision is made to preserve the character of the old vines and the La Rave Nord vineyard itself.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe wine opens with soaring aromas of black cherry, wild raspberry, rose petal, crushed herbs, and the earthy scent of a damp Burgundian forest. The palate is silky and remarkably alive, balancing old-vine concentration with freshness and energy. Layers of red fruit, spice, earth, and minerality unfold gradually across the palate before lingering on a long, elegant finish. This is not a blockbuster Pinot Noir. It's a wine of nuance, perfume, and place, and that's precisely what makes it so compelling.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eServe this in a large Burgundy stem at 60–65°F and give it 20–30 minutes in a decanter if drinking now. I love wines like this with food, and a wood-grilled lamb burger topped with caramelized onions would be absolutely spectacular. It would be equally at home alongside roast chicken, duck breast, wild mushroom risotto, or herb-roasted pork loin. While approachable today, I suspect this wine will continue to evolve gracefully over the next five to eight years. More importantly, it offers a glimpse into what many believe is Burgundy's future: old vines planted in cooler, higher-elevation sites that are finally coming into their own. For those willing to look beyond the famous village names on the label, discoveries like this are becoming harder and harder to find, and that's exactly why I wanted to share this bottle with you today.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Martines","offers":[{"title":"750ml","offer_id":46975557337244,"sku":"CAUB2605-CHANC22RAVE-750","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0694\/6937\/2572\/files\/DomaineduChancelier_Bourgogne-2022WEB.png?v=1780080456","url":"https:\/\/thecaubleist.com\/products\/domaine-du-chancelier-bourgogne-hautes-cotes-de-beaune-rouge-la-rave-nord-vv-burgundy-france-2022","provider":"The Caubleist","version":"1.0","type":"link"}