Domaine Stéphane Magnien Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru 2019

Domaine Stéphane Magnien Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru in this parcel has stayed in the estate's own cellar since bottling.

Vines of around fifty years on chalk at the middle of the walled site, a third of the barrels new, a year in wood and then tank before an unfined, unfiltered bottling; storage since has been cool and unbroken.

A warm growing season has rounded the edges here, leaving dark cherry, a hint of mushroom and sweet spice over settled tannins. Pull the cork an hour early, serve at 16-18°C and bring out game or a hard mountain cheese.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.

Type: Red Wine
Style: Full-bodied, Dry
Grape Varietal: Pinot Noir
Tastes Like: A grand cru red Burgundy with some bottle age: Pinot Noir combining structure and finesse
Alcohol Percentage: 13%
Closure: Cork
Size: 750mL
Appellation: Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, France's protected designation of origin; grand cru is the top of Burgundy's four vineyard ranks)
Region: Morey-Saint-Denis, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France
Terroir: Old vines on chalky limestone in the middle of the historic walled Clos Saint-Denis, where the domaine farms about 0.32 hectares
Aging: A year in French oak barrels, a third of them new, then time in tank before bottling without fining or filtration; kept in the domaine's cellar since bottling
Serving Temperature: 16-18℃ (open an hour before serving)

Domaine Stéphane Magnien is a small family estate in Morey-Saint-Denis, in Burgundy's Côte de Nuits, with its cellar in the 18th-century family house just behind the village church. Stéphane is the fourth generation, after Victor, Félix and his father Jean-Paul. Félix made the wine but sold it to négociants (merchant houses); Jean-Paul was the first to bottle it under the family name, and Stéphane took over in 2008 after several years working alongside him. The domaine is tiny, under five hectares across village, premier cru and grand cru sites in Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin, and many of the vines are old, a good share of them the small-berried Pinot Tordu. The vineyards are ploughed and no herbicides are used, the wines are fermented with natural yeasts, and they are bottled without fining or filtration.

Clos Saint-Denis is one of the five grand crus of Morey-Saint-Denis, an old walled vineyard whose name the village added to its own. The domaine's holding of about 0.32 hectares lies in the centre of the original clos, and Stéphane counts it as his best parcel. This 2019 comes from a warm vintage and has been kept in the family's own cool cellar since it was bottled, so it arrives with several years of bottle age already behind it.

Game birds: Partridge braised with cabbage and sausage
Game: Roast wild boar with chestnuts
Beef: Slow-roasted beef rib with bone marrow
Mushrooms: Truffled potato gratin

Comté (30 months): A hard mountain cheese from just east of Burgundy, its savoury depth suits a grand cru with bottle age
Beaufort: Firm and rich, another great Alpine cheese for mature Pinot Noir
Mont d'Or: A seasonal, spoonable cheese from the Jura, at its best from autumn to early spring
Langres: A gentle washed-rind cheese that won't overpower a mature red

Perdreaux aux Choux (Partridge Braised with Cabbage)

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• 4 partridges (from game suppliers), or 2 small spatchcocks
• 1 Savoy cabbage, quartered and cored
• 200g speck or smoked bacon, in one piece, cut into thick lardons
• 4 Toulouse-style pork sausages
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 brown onion, sliced
• 6 juniper berries, crushed
• 1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay, parsley)
• 40g butter
• 375mL chicken stock
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 170℃. Blanch the cabbage quarters in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, drain, refresh in cold water and squeeze dry.
2. Season the birds inside and out. Melt the butter in a large casserole and brown the birds all over; remove. Brown the lardons and sausages; remove.
3. Soften the onion and carrots in the casserole for 5 minutes. Spread half the cabbage over them, sit the birds, lardons and sausages on top, add the juniper and bouquet garni, then cover with the rest of the cabbage.
4. Pour in the stock, season, cover tightly and cook in the oven for 1 hour (45 minutes for spatchcocks), until the birds are tender.
5. Slice the sausages and serve the birds on the cabbage with the lardons, sausage and some of the cooking juices.

Perdreaux aux choux is a traditional French autumn dish, made when partridges come into season and the first cabbages are ready. The slow braise draws out savoury, earthy flavours that suit a red Burgundy with some bottle age, and a 2019 Clos Saint-Denis has the depth to match the game while its finesse keeps the dish feeling elegant.