Amiot-Servelle

History of Domaine Amiot-Servelle

The estate’s origins date back to 1920, when Clément Tachot began tending a few vines in Chambolle-Musigny and making his own wine. Thirty years later, in 1950, his daughter Cécile and son-in-law Jean Servelle officially founded Domaine Servelle-Tachot, which patiently assembled a remarkable collection of plots in the heart of the village.

The turning point came in 1980, when Élisabeth Servelle, daughter of Cécile and Jean, returned to help her parents alongside her husband Christian Amiot, son of the renowned Morey-Saint-Denis winegrower Pierre Amiot. After Jean Servelle died in 1989, the couple took ownership and renamed the property Amiot-Servelle. Christian and Élisabeth committed the estate to environmentally responsible viticulture in 2003, adopting organic practices across all its plots before obtaining certification in 2008. In 2010, the acquisition of several plots from the Amiot family, totaling one hectare, brought the prized Morey-Saint-Denis, Clos Saint-Denis and Charmes-Chambertin vineyards. Their children Prune and Antoine joined the venture in 2011, with Prune taking charge of viticulture and winemaking. Their arrival marked a new chapter for the estate, bringing a perceptible extra degree of finesse to recent vintages that has been widely praised by international critics. In 2022, a new cellar and winemaking facility were built to enable more gravity-fed handling.

Terroirs and Vines of Domaine Amiot-Servelle

The vineyards are centered on Chambolle-Musigny, where the estate has a remarkably rich collection of plots. Its village-appellation holdings cover 2.30 hectares across eight named sites. The best of these, Les Bas-Doix, lies just below Les Amoureuses and has vines aged 30 to 35 years. Then come the premiers crus, often tiny: 0.17 hectares in Les Feusselottes, 0.18 in Les Fuées, 0.26 in Derrière la Grange, 0.39 in Les Plantes, 0.45 in Les Amoureuses and, above all, 1.27 hectares in Les Charmes—the estate’s largest holding in this climat—with 40-year-old vines.

The estate also holds 0.46 hectares in Morey-Saint-Denis, 0.17 hectares in Clos Saint-Denis and 0.19 hectares in Charmes-Chambertin, alongside 0.97 hectares of Pinot Noir and 0.26 hectares of Chardonnay in the regional appellation. The high limestone content of these plots’ soils gives the wines a mineral character and elegant fragrance, true to Chambolle’s floral signature. Derrière la Grange, on the Morey side, is an exception, with a more masculine style that has become a house specialty. The aim is simple: treat the vines with respect to obtain fruit of impeccable quality, essential for wines that faithfully express their individual sites.

Winemaking at Domaine Amiot-Servelle

The grapes are harvested by hand and rigorously sorted both in the vineyard and at the winery. The proportion of whole bunches used varies considerably by wine and vintage, from fully destemmed fruit for the very old Charmes-Chambertin vines to 100% whole bunches for Les Borniques, with 30% to 65% for Les Amoureuses depending on the year. Adjusting this balance cuvée by cuvée adds tension, aromatic complexity and length without ever making the wine harsh.

Fermentation is handled gently, with finesse rather than extraction always the goal. A substantial proportion of the wines are then aged in 400-liter barrels, whose larger size limits the influence of oak and preserves Chambolle’s characteristic delicacy. The proportion of new oak remains measured, reaching up to 50% for the most ambitious cuvées, such as Les Amoureuses. Since the new cellar was built in 2022, transfers have been carried out by gravity wherever possible, without forceful pumping. The result is wines of great purity, with a saline mineral structure, fine tannins and remarkable length, capable of aging easily for two decades.

The Cuvées of Domaine Amiot-Servelle

Bourgogne Chardonnay: sourced from a small 0.26-hectare plot, this regional white receives the same care in the winery as the crus. Citrus, white flowers and a hint of almond mingle on the nose, while the palate remains supple, fresh and saline. A bright, easy-drinking introduction to the estate’s wines.

Bourgogne Pinot Noir: produced from 0.97 hectares, this is a vibrant, fragrant Pinot Noir with cherry and raspberry notes, fine tannins and lovely freshness. Excellent value for discovering the house style; enjoy it young and lightly chilled.

Chambolle-Musigny: the village cuvée, a blend from 2.30 hectares across eight named sites, including the exceptionally well-situated Les Bas-Doix, just below Les Amoureuses. The vines are 30 to 35 years old. The wine expresses all of Chambolle’s finesse, with aromas of rose, violet and small red berries, a silky palate and a saline finish. One of the appellation’s most accomplished village wines.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru “Les Charmes”: the estate’s largest holding at 1.27 hectares, with vines around 40 years old. This climat is considered a benchmark for classic Chambolle premier cru. It combines generous fruit, a velvety texture and an elegant mineral structure, with a beautifully long finish. Relatively approachable when young, it nevertheless ages very well.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru “Les Plantes”: a 0.39-hectare plot yielding a fine, fragrant Pinot Noir with lively acidity and notes of small red berries. It has a lithe structure and a clean, fresh finish. A particularly approachable, crystalline expression of the village.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru “Les Feusselottes”: a tiny 0.17-hectare plot producing very limited quantities. It combines concentration and delicacy, with precise fruit, gentle spice and a fine texture. A rare cuvée, highly sought after by wine lovers.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru “Les Fuées”: 0.18 hectares on the north side of the village, near Bonnes-Mares. This climat produces a more intense, structured wine, with black fruit and spice, a firm tannic foundation and genuine aging potential.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru “Les Borniques”: the estate has always owned these vines at the edge of Musigny, on the village side, but has vinified them as a separate cuvée only since the 2017 vintage. Made entirely with whole bunches and fermented in 400-liter barrels without new oak, it reveals rose, wild strawberry and mouthwatering minerality, with ripe, fine-grained tannins and an intense, very long finish. A wine of fascinating purity.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru “Derrière la Grange”: a house specialty. This small, 0.7-hectare climat on the Morey side is almost half-owned by the estate, which farms 0.26 hectares of it. More structured and masculine than the other Chambolle wines, it offers a concentrated, finely spiced aromatic core, a saline palate and remarkable complexity. Very youthful on release, it promises to develop beautifully.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru “Les Amoureuses”: the estate’s flagship, from 0.45 hectares in the northern part of the appellation, on limestone, stony and silty soils, with vines around 30 years old. Aged in French oak barrels, 50% of them new, it has all the hallmarks of a fine wine in its aromatic, tannic and mineral intensity. Its color is a vivid, luminous ruby; the bouquet is complex, and the palate is both silky and powerful, with a very long, precise finish. It has aging potential of around twenty years, or even longer in great vintages.

Morey-Saint-Denis: sourced from 0.46 hectares acquired from the Amiot family, this village wine adds a denser, earthier dimension to the range. Black fruit, spice and woodland notes shape a structured wine with supple tannins that benefits from a few years in the cellar.

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru: actually sourced from the Mazoyères sector, which the family has always labeled Charmes, this grand cru comes from 0.19 hectares of very old vines and is vinified without whole bunches. The broad nose opens to a burst of floral aromas with air, alongside remarkable freshness and rare complexity. An exceptional Charmes-Chambertin that has earned the estate praise from the most discerning tasters.

Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru: 0.17 hectares in one of Morey-Saint-Denis’s most refined grands crus. The nose stands out for its immediate density and ripe yet perfectly pure fruit, while the palate impresses more through depth than weight. Powerful and concentrated in its youth, this grand cru has considerable potential and needs several years of patience to reveal its full character.