Bruno Clair is a quite and unassuming Burgundian winemaker. Meeting him would make you wonder if this really is THE Bruno Clair…the famous winemaker from Burgundy. Well yes he is…
It’s actually more complicated than that. I’ll skip the family history that goes back to 1910 and start when in 1985-86, Bruno along with his parents, four brothers and sister set up what is known today as the Bruno Clair estate. Now Bruno is a man of the vineyard…that’s where he feels best and the winery a little less. That’s why he recruited the winemaking talents of Philippe Brun…who has been making the wine ever since (for the last 25 years).
The estate has nearly 23 hectares (57 acres) from Savigny to Marsannay…which takes quite some organizing. So Bruno, according to Philippe Brun, looks after the vineyards and ensures that the grapes are in a perfect condition when harvested, “leaving me the job of making the wine”. This successful partnership is the key to the success of the estate.
Bruno is incredibly knowledable about the vineyards, the vines and his cultivation philosophy is that of the “lutte raisonnée” method incorporating as much bio-dynamic methods as possible: horse/machine ploughed, natural humus and organic fertilisers and strictly NO pesticides. He is moving rapidly to a total organic philosophy.
He has 3 Grand Crus which are les Bonnes Mares, Chambertin Clos de Beze and Corton Charlemagne. He has 5 Premiers Crus in Gevrey Chambertin and 1 in Savigny les Beaune.
His Village appellations stretch from Marsannay through Gevry, Chambolle Musigny, Morey St Denis and Vosne Romanée in the Côtes de Nuit to Pernand Vergelesses and Aloxe Corton in the Côtes de Beaune district.
WineTime France News 
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