Frédéric Esmonin

History of Domaine Frédéric Esmonin

For several decades, the Esmonin family cultivated their vines in Gevrey-Chambertin, selling their entire harvest to major Burgundian négociants such as Drouhin, Jadot and Leroy. Some of the legendary cuvées from the house of Leroy in the 1950s are said to have been crafted from grapes sourced from the Esmonin vines. It was not until 1988 that Frédéric decided to take the leap and vinify his own wines, thereby bringing to an end years of négociant cooperation. Holding a BTS diploma in viticulture and oenology from Beaune, Frédéric was naturally destined to take over the reins of the family domaine de. Since then, he has run the estate alongside his father André and his mother Michèle, forming a true family collaboration in which each member brings their experience and expertise. Although Frédéric faces mobility challenges, the family cohesion and intergenerational transmission allow the domaine de to shine with consistency, producing wines acclaimed by international critics and recognized for their remarkable and consistent quality vintage after vintage.

Terroirs and Vines of Domaine Frédéric Esmonin

The estate possesses an exceptional viticultural heritage spread across some ten hectares, comprising prestigious plots in Grand Cru and Premier Cru appellations. Among the Grand Crus, the domaine cultivates vines of over fifty years in Ruchottes-Chambertin, forty years in Mazis-Chambertin, as well as plots in Chambertin Clos de Bèze, Bonnes-Mares and Chambertin. These vines are rooted in the calcareous and marly soils characteristic of the Côte de Nuits, yielding precise and mineral expressions of pinot noir. The Premier Crus of the estate are located primarily in Gevrey-Chambertin, notably including the renowned plots of Estournelles Saint-Jacques (full south-facing exposure benefiting from the last rays of sunlight), Lavaux Saint-Jacques (immediate neighbor of the famous Clos Saint-Jacques) and Les Champonnets. To these gems are added village-level plots such as Les Jouises Vieilles Vignes, Clos Prieur and more confidential terroirs in Nuits-Saint-Georges (Hauts Pruliers), Pernand-Vergelesses (Les Boutières), Côte de Nuits Villages (La Belle Vue), Savigny-lès-Beaune and Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. Each lieu-dit benefits from meticulous soil work through sustainable farming, with no herbicides for over ten years, regular plowing of the plots and the use of natural composts to promote microbial life and the optimal expression of the terroirs.

Winemaking at Domaine Frédéric Esmonin

The winemaking methods at Frédéric Esmonin are guided by a commitment to respecting the fruit and revealing the typicity of each plot. The grapes are harvested by hand at optimal ripeness, then fully destemmed before undergoing a cold maceration lasting four to five days, a process that imparts an additional dimension of fruit and freshness to the wines. The estate uses a modern membrane press allowing precise control of the pressure applied to the grapes, thereby ensuring a gentle and qualitative extraction. The wines are then aged in carefully selected French oak barrels sourced from the Allier and Nevers forests and crafted by the renowned coopers Radoux and Berthomieu. The aging process lasts fourteen to seventeen months depending on the vintage, with the Grand Crus and the Premier Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques benefiting from 80 percent new oak, while the village wines are aged in only 20 percent new wood. The wines are blended after aging in barrels of varying age and toast level in order to achieve optimal balance and complexity. No racking takes place before bottling, and the wines undergo neither fining nor filtration, thus preserving their full authenticity and aging potential.

The cuvées of Domaine Frédéric Esmonin

The Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits is the entry point of the estate, a fresh and pleasurable red wine with notes of cherry and red fruits, ideal for an accessible introduction to the Esmonin style.

The Bourgogne Rouge Les Génevrières seduces with its ruby clarity, aromas of tart cranberry, ripe strawberry and warm spices, offering a supple palate of cherry and raspberry with exceptional drinkability.

The Côte de Nuits Villages La Belle Vue offers a remarkable balance between red fruits, freshness and moderate structure, perfect for drinking within the first few years.

The Pernand-Vergelesses Les Boutières displays a unique wild character within the Esmonin range, evolving from delicate red fruits and rose petals toward notes of mushroom, hoisin and damp forest floor with age.

The Savigny-lès-Beaune expresses the finesse and elegance inherent to this Côte de Beaune appellation, with silky tannins and a pure, forthright fruit.

The Gevrey-Chambertin Village from the Lavaux valley plots offers an attractive color, a lightly spiced nose with a hint of reduction, a juicy and straightforward palate driven by refreshing acidity, a wine to decant for immediate pleasurable drinking.

The Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur comes from fifty- to sixty-year-old vines located in a village-classified section of the climat, though it easily rivals many Premier Crus. This wine reveals a pure and utterly inviting bouquet, greater architectural structure with a chalky tannin, superb finesse and remarkable length.

The Gevrey-Chambertin Les Jouises Vieilles Vignes combines aromatic breadth, concentrated red fruits and slightly superior intensity, with a touch of creaminess on the finish that makes it a generous and greatly appreciated wine.

The Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Hauts Pruliers, from a lieu-dit situated above an old limestone quarry, displays a taut, sharp and linear structure, with captivating and romantic aromatics conducive to cellaring.

The Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Les Champonnets opens with broad aromatics accented by oak spices that aeration replaces with a floral bouquet, an intermediate structure but with added flavor intensity and complexity, finishing on a broad and satisfying note.

The Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques requires only a little air to reveal its full potential, offering breadth and purity from the moment of opening — a superb and inviting whole that evolves magnificently over the years.

The Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Estournelles Saint-Jacques holds a privileged position at the top of the south-facing slope, capturing the last rays of sunlight, on slightly sandy soils with a base of clay and limestone bringing finesse and concentration. Its broad and airy bouquet, its direct freshness and impressive energy make it a Premier Cru to await with patience, a promise of exceptional aging potential.

The Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru comes from a 0.5-hectare plot planted with vines of over fifty years, situated just below Armand Rousseau's Clos des Ruchottes. This Grand Cru unveils an airy floral bouquet that swiftly reaches a superior level, a magnificently balanced structure without any hardness, broadening with energy and complexity, a density at mid-palate and persistent flavors on the finish. Its fine and velvety texture and exceptional length make it a Ruchottes of the very highest class.

The Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru from forty-year-old vines planted on hard soils yields a wine of finesse and restraint, requiring several hours of decanting or a minimum of five years of cellaring, revealing pure red fruits, cherry brandy, liquorice, small dark fruits, leather notes introducing a virile and powerful palate built for aging.

The Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru, one of the greatest climats in Burgundy, delivers extraordinary depth, concentration and complexity — a dense and virile wine with aromas of dark fruits, black liqueur and chocolate, evolving after aging toward notes of musk, truffle and forest floor.

The Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru located in Chambolle-Musigny combines power and elegance, firm tannic structure and intense fruit, offering remarkable aging potential.

Finally, the Chambertin Grand Cru, a mythical plot among mythical plots, represents the absolute pinnacle of the estate's production when it is made — a wine of very high expression, rich, deep and concentrated in the words of Clive Coates, the ultimate incarnation of Burgundian pinot noir capable of traversing decades in the cellar with grace and nobility.