Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson
— Portfolio —
BOURGOGNE BLANC 2021
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“Coming from the blending of plots on the heights of Saint-Romain, the downgrading of the Appellation Village of the Cote de Beaune and the purchase of grapes from another certified organic farming estate. Our Bourgogne Blanc combines freshness and minerality, finesse and depth.” – Franck Buisson.
40% of fruit is sourced from their Saint-Romain vineyards, 10% from a Cotes de Beaune village site, and the remaining 50% from the organic Macon producer Guillot-Broux. The aim to balance the limestone-driven acidity of Saint-Romain with by roundness and warmth of Macon fruit. Labelled as Maison rather than Domaine Buisson, as it is not wholly estate fruit.
Parcels were made separately than blended pre-bottling. 50% is matured in old oak and 50% in stainless steel.
Fermented and matured for 12 months in old oak, parcels all made separately than blended pre-bottling. Just 5,000 bottles produced in 2020.
SAINT-ROMAIN BLANC EN POILLANGE 2021
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“The ‘Poillange’ terroir takes position on the slope, taking advantage of its softening and excellent soils. These 60-year-old vines, facing south-east, blossom freshly between 353 and 380 meters above sea level, on a hill opposite the Saint-Romain valley. In this marl and limestone complex, clayey banks are perfectly suited to the Chardonnay grape variety..” – Franck Buisson.
En Poillange is a climat to the south of Saint-Romain village, a high altitude site that faces mostly east to get the morning sun. It is a very rock site with a high limestone content.
100% matured in 500 litre barrels, enable more oak and lees interaction to buffer the extreme minerality of the site. Franck described the palate of Poillange as ’stone’s rolling along the tongue’…
SAINT-ROMAIN BLANC SOUS LA VELLE 2021
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Sous La Velle is Buisson’s signature white wine site, located beneath Saint-Romain village (Velle is an old word for village). It sits at an average of 370m all, in the sloping centre of the hillside vineyard, unlike the Sous la Velle climate in Meursault which is on flat ground. There is a great balance of clay and limestone (more clay than Sous la Velle).
“Planted on the marl scree of Saint-Romain, the vines take root in the limestone and thus offer a beautiful minerality to the wine. The attack is frank with notes of candied lemon then, this dense wine, fatter than the others, with complex aromas and multiple horizons, opens on a beautiful saline and iodized vibration. The divine alliance of a mineral world and an explosive fruitiness.” – Franck Buisson.
Mostly fermented and matured on full solids in large 30hl (3,000 l) casks, with some small portions matured in smaller barrel sizes. Look for a grapefruit, citrus element to the fruit profile and a tonic-like bitter twist to the palate.
Franck likened the 2021 vintage to both 2017 and 2018 – a little richer than en Poillange but still with characteristic crunchy citrus notes and bitter twist to the palate.
CHASSAGNE MONTRACHET 1ER CRU LA MELTROIE 2021
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The Buissons do a fruit exchange with an organic grower in Chassagne to source La Maltroie, one of the large Chassagne premier crus, located next to Les Champs Gains, with a reputation for shy and slow-evolving wines. They were lucky to get any Chassagne in 2021…
This is richer than the En Remilly bottling, described by Franck as very “easy-going”. Labelled as Maison rather than Domaine.
CHASSAGNE MONTRACHET 1ER CRU EN REMILLY 2021
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En Remilly is the northernmost Chassagne climat, located at the intersection of Chassagne, Puligny and Saint-Aubin, and a literal stone’s throw from famed Le Montrachet. Since 2017 the Buissons have exchanged fruit with this organic grower (the En Remilly was their first non-estate wine).
The south-facing site, on a limestone base, produces an intense Chassagne style, unencumbered by any new oak. Just two barrels produced. No batonnage.
BOURGOGNE ROUGE 2021
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Unlike previous vintages (which didn’t make it to Australia) this is a true estate-wine with fruit sourced from the higher sections around their Saint-Romain vineyards, with a nod towards younger vines.
It is about structure as much as juiciness, and was all aged in 228 litre barrels. A super serious Bourgogne Rouge, and just a few thousand bottles made.
Beaune Rouge is a roughly equal blend of the two sites – one high elevation (Longbois) and one more on the valley floor (Prevoles). Average vine age is 30 years.
The two plots are vinified separately. Fermentation takes place only in steel tank, with maturation mostly in steel with 20% matured in various oak vessels for no more than 12 months.
This is Frank’s favourite wine of the vintage, perhaps as it shows the starkest difference between 2020 and 2021. The heat and weight of 2020 is left in the rear-view mirror – the 2021 version is a lighter-coloured, elegant wine, the most ‘old-school’ of all the 2021 reds. It’s all about florals and perfume.
SANTENAY ROUGE 1er CRU CLOS DE LA COMME 2020
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A 2020 one-off release from the the 1er Cru Clos de la Comme vineyard, an east facing site that joins Chassagne to the north east of Santenay village, lying directly next to Chassagne
les Morgeots. ‘Comme’ is derived from the the ‘Combe’, meaning valley or ravine. The fruit is partially destemmed, fermented in steel tank, then matured for 12 month maturation in a variety of small oak vessels.
SAINT ROMAIN ROUGE SOUS ROCHE 2021
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Sous Roche is the foundation red wine climate of Domaine Buisson, the partner to the Sous Velle white. It’s a 60 year-old, 3ha plot full of limestone and ironstone that faces Saint-Romain village, on the opposite slope to Sous Velle. Facing west, it captures warm afternoon sun but it’s high elevation (average 360m) lends it a high-altitude freshness. Most of the site was massale selection plantings by Henri Buisson in the 1960s.
Approx 70% whole bunches were used in the fermentation, which is all in steel, before 12 months maturation in various oak vessels..
This saw slightly more whole bunch than Buisson’s other reds, as it usually does, approaching 40%. It was aged in various oak vessels.
POMMARD LES PETITS NOIZONS 2021
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Les Petits Noizons can be found overlooking the Pommard premier crus of Les Charmots and La Platire. It’s a south-facing vineyard in the middle of the main hill sitting at approx 310m asl.
It is renowned as a site that produces a softer, more youthfully approachable Pommard. The name stems from the ancient local name for walnuts ‘les Nosroyes’. Described by Franck as a very “peaceful” Pommard, confident in itself “with nothing to prove…”
Notes from Franck Buisson – “Ample, tasty, punctuated with spicy notes, this village offers great depth. If Pommard is an appellation renowned for its wines for aging, “Les Petits Noizons” will also delight the palate from an early age.”
CORTON GRAND CRU LE ROGNET-ET-CORTON 2021
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Domaine Buisson are the latest producer to put the correct, full name on the label – everyone else just calls it Le Rognet!
Le Rognet-et-Corton can be found on the south east corner of the Corton hill, facing east. It is a lieu-dit within the Corton Grand Cru, and part of the Ladoix-Serrigny commune. Back in the 1930s it was one of the first vineyards on the Ladoix side of the hill to attain Grand Cru status. It remains one of the preeminent Pinot Noir sites, with free-draining, poor limestone soil and an altitude of 270m. The Buisson vines are 70-odd years old.
Notes from Franck Buisson – “When young, Rognet-et-Corton exudes notes of spicy fruits, blackcurrant and kirsch. As it ages, it develops aromas of undergrowth, truffles and leather. It is what we expect from the excellence of a Grand Cru red from Burgundy: the incarnation of seductive Pinot noir. This great charmer likes to be desired and is ideally enjoyed between 4 and 15 years.”
“A pale crimson colour. The nose is very elegant, after a fraction of reduction blows up. Light, but a darker raspberry note. A few whole bunches start to show. Noticeably stronger fruit behind with the curious character of having a few black notes – alongside red cherry – without being especially ripe. Just avoids volatile, good length. Drink from 2026-2032.” – 92-94 Points, Jasper Morris (Inside Burgundy)