Purity & Elegance
1. Introducing 2022 Domaine Henri Magnien
Vins Rare is delighted to present the 2022 Domaine Henri Magnien lineup. This is one of the most exciting Domaines I have had the pleasure of working with in my 30-plus years of selling Burgundy wine.
If you knew Charles Magnien, the man who helms Domaine Henri Magnien, you would not be surprised to learn that all of the major wine critics have come out recently with huge praise, yet again, for the 2022 vintage. I had anticipated this acclaim for the vintage after spending a full day with Charles Magnien just last December (2023), touring every part of his operation and tasting the line up. There is a lot to be excited about!
It is a vintage with the freshness and transparency of 2021, leaning a touch sunnier with ample ripeness and good concentration. You can buy this vintage across the board without a second thought.
Aromatically, Henri Magnien wines lean more red fruit than black fruit. The wines have a beautiful color; one that allows the light to pass through. Medium to full bodied density, but above all there is an elegance and a seamless character to all the wines. The vinification here is long and slow with texture and mouthfeel, something Charles very much strives for. He bottles on the earlier side to maintain freshness. The quality is first rate, and I am convinced that once people begin to taste these wines, they will understand why I’m so excited about them.
White Burgundy
2. The Vineyards of Domaine Henri Magnien
The Domaine is 7.8 hectares in size with the bulk of the holdings in Gevrey Chambertin (5.6 hectares) There are 4 plots in Brochon (.87) which are the vines used for the Bourgogne and the Cote de Nuits Village - all of which are approximately 50 years old. There is an Aloxe Corton 1er (.76) and a single plot in Corton (.31) with 100 year old vines.
For those of you that follow the various clones of pinot noir in the Côte, you’ll be interested to know, the Magnien vines have become a desirable clone, aptly named “Magnien.” They produce a tiny thick-skinned berry with a high solid to liquid ratio.
Massale selection, a traditional method of vineyard propagation, is used (this is particular to older vineyards); whereby a subset of vines are selected for use as the genetic stock to plant the new vineyard. Organic farming is employed with no certification. No pesticides or herbicides are used.
His prized holding is in the 1er Cru Les Cazetieres (1.47), where he owns 7 plots with several of them being planted prior to World War I. The beauty of his holdings in Les Cazetiers is that he owns a continuous line from top to bottom, which you’ll see on the map below. is a very similar orientation to his neighbors in Clos St. Jacques. This takes advantage of an approximate elevation change of 50 meters from bottom to top.
3. History of Domaine Henri Magnien
The Magnien lineage (not to be confused with the Magnien's from Morey) dates back to the 15th Century when the family settled in Flagely Echezeuax. They are descendants of the Grivot-Rousseau genealogy. In the 1700’s Magnien’s Great Great Grand father worked for the Abby Saint Vivant and was charge of Les 5 Journeaux which is today Romanee Conti vineyard. It is part of their history for which Charles is very proud.
In 1656 the family settled into the present day location in Gevrey Chambertin named Meix Coquebrique, which is the name of the courtyard located at the base of Les Cazetieres, the location of the winery today.
Charles Magnien (now 36), represents the 12th generation in control of historic Domaine. Charles took over the estate following the harvest of 2009, although it is fair to say that he has really only been making his "own" wines since purchasing the remaining shares from his father in 2015. At this point it would have made sense to put Charles’ name on the label, but the humble young man instead felt that he wanted to honor his Grandfather and instead opted for the name Domaine Henri Magnien. He is now 100% in control of every aspect of the operation, growing increasingly comfortable in that role.
4. The State of the Art Winery & Process of Domaine Henri Magnien
In 2018, Charles undertook a complete renovation of the winery. Every modern winemaking tool was installed, the most impactful being custom stainless steel fermentation tanks that allow him to precisely control the temperature at every step of the fermentation process. With his close proximity to his vines, the grapes are harvested and in the fermentation tank within 1 hour of picking. He likes to cool the grapes prior to the start of fermentation and says regardless of the temperature outside, in a matter of 6 hours he can bring the temperature down to 10 degrees celsius.
Charles employs a very minimal approach to winemaking. A cold soak is employed for 7-10 days or so and then fermentation is allowed to happen naturally. Typical fermentation lasts approximately 2 weeks where he only pumps over and never punches down to have the most gentle extraction possible, one of the reasons his wines are so seamless and elegant.
As I mentioned above, the tool that has most helped in the precision of the wines is his ability to control the fermentation temperature. In years past he tells me the fermentation temperature can easily reach 32-34 degrees. He is very much like a kid with a new toy and is learning how and what temperature works for his wines. 2021 was a very aw ha moment for him. Instead of letting the fermentation temperature rise above 30 degrees, which is a way to get extraction, he decided to set the fermentation temperature at 26 degrees. This resulted in a slower more gentle extraction which allows for less vintage influence and more terroir expression. In 2022 he again set the temperature at 26 degrees but as the fermentation was finishing he decided he wanted a little more from some of the cuvees. With those wines, Cazetieres, Aloxe Corton, Lavaux, he increased the temperature and for the next 6 hours was constantly tasting until the wines reached what he described as “perfect.” I guess sleeping at the winery for 30 or so days around the harvest allows you to keep a really close eye on all of your cuvees.
Charles de-stemmed 100% in 2022 as he had done in 2021, with the exception of 4 Carac Terres, which is a single 300L barrel cuvee produced with 100% whole cluster every year.
5. The Barrels & Corks of Domaine Henri Magnien
Barrels: Carvin is the barrel maker of choice Chez Magnien. Over the past 10 years, Charles has experimented with different forests of oak in France and varying levels of toast. His preference is for what he describes as light brown and as he explained it is a 3hr process with a very low flame. He has purchased his own wood from a combination of forests throughout France - this has allowed him to select certain woods which he feels brings out particular characteristics with each of the different wines. He allows the wood to dry for between 24-36 months and the barrels are all made to his specifications. Its a varied selection each vintage depending on what mother nature is providing in the vineyards. It works out to approximately 25% new for the Village wines, up to 50% for the 1er Cru and 75% for the Corton. Most of the barrels are standard 228 Liter in size, although this year more 300 Liter barrels have been used, and from what he tells me he likes the 300 Liter size in that there is less wood influence from these larger barrels. He uses barrels for 3 vintages as they rotate through the cellar.
Corks: Charles is buying his corks directly in Portugal from one of the oldest cork producers. Not only are they tested by a machine for TCA, they go one step further and receive the final sniff test from a human nose. He is spending 2 Euro per cork, and bottling the Bourgogne to the Ruchottes with the same corks. The best orientation of the cork is always selected and that is the side that is touching the wine. His goal is for the customer that purchase 12 bottles of wine - each and every bottle is evolving at the same rate. I can’t think of a single corked bottle I’ve had in probably 50 that I’ve opened over the years.
6. The Henri Magnien 2022 Portfolio
