Visit Domaine Chandon de Briailles – tasting of the 2022s

Fame and glory is sometimes not fairly distributed in Burgundy, and especially estates outside the main appellations seem to struggle to get the acclaim they deserve.

One of these estates is Chandon de Briailles in Savigny Les Beaune .. a biodynamic domaine under the management of Claude and François de Nicolay – siblings with a passion for wine.

This is a rather large estate – 13.7 ha in total – located in a beautiful chateau in Savigny Les Beaune. I was received by Claude de Nicolay on a lovely but slightly cool October day.

Claude and Francois run the estate as a team, and all decisions and tasks are shared. The estate has been organic and biodynamic since 2005, and is Demeter certified (certification process began in 2008 and the estate has been fully certified since the 2011 vintage) as one of the relatively few estates in Burgundy.

They are taking biodynamics very seriously at Chandon de Briailles – and judged from the tasting with a very fine result indeed.

The wines and vineyards of Chandon de Briailles

Chandon de Briailles have 13.7 ha of vineyards mainly located in the appellations surrounding the village of Savigny Les Beaune. This is a huge area for a Biodynamic estate – a lot of work in keeping the vineyards in difficult years like 2024

Corton

• Les Maréchaudes – 0.3972 ha
• Les Bressandes – 1.4535 ha
• Clos du Roi – 0.4465 ha
• Corton Blanc – 0.5578 ha (85% Bressandes, 15% Corton Chaumes)
• Corton Charlemagne – 0.1103 ha

Aloxe-Corton

• Les Valozières – 0.287 ha

Pernand-Vergelesses

• Les Vergelesses – 1.226 ha
• Île des Vergelesses Blanc – 1.12 ha
• Île des Vergelesses Rouge – 2.10 ha

Savigny Les Beaune

• Aux Fourneaux – 2.41 ha
• Les Lavières – 2.60 ha
• Savigny-les-Beaune – 0.6 ha (Les Saucours)

The main holdings are the Grand Cru areas on the Corton hill, but as always, one should not overlook the qualities of the wines from the so-called lesser appellations – Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses and Savigny Les Beaune.

Especially the whites from Chandon de Briailles are lovely … with the white Corton as the top cuvée of the estate … together with the red Corton Clos du Roi. But also the white Île des Vergelesses Blanc is a true treat with its saline notes.

Style of the wines

The style of the wines is low intervention and low-extract wines with quite low sulphur… organic and refined …

The wines have lovely detail and expression of terroir – the fruit has a lovely intensity – but is by no means forced or strongly extracted. One quality I would like to highlight is “effortless” – as with other Biodynamic wines, the wines seem to be in equilibrium and balance … and not forced or restrained. This often translates into a lovely drinkability … more so than one would expect from the appellations in question – so to speak.

The wines have an organic and natural feel – and a very fine balance – in my mind due to a fine contribution from the Biodynamic viticulture employed over the years.

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Tasting notes from October 1st 2025

Domaine Chandon de Briailles, Savigny les Beaune Les Lavieres 2023

The Savigny Les Lavieres 2023 is quite a concentrated wine with a hint of “brutality” currently … I have a feeling that the VA is slightly on the higher side, and this gives an expressive and exciting wine in my view. I like this!

(Drink from 2030) – Very Good (89-90p) – 1/10/2025 – 

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Domaine Chandon de Briailles, Pernand-Vergelesses Île de Vergelesses 2022

The Pernand-Vergelesses Île de Vergelesses 2022 is a beauty with this classical saline note underneath the red fruit. Intense and balanced … a lovely vintage 2022 with the rich and generous fruit. Not on the sweet side like some other 2022s … this is good juice.

(Drink from 2032) – Fine (91p) – 1/10/2025 – 

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Domaine Chandon de Briailles, Corton Les Bressandes 2022

The Corton Les Bressandes 2022 is rich and generous, but still in the elegant style. It’s perfumed and slightly smoky … classical Corton. It is well made, but tasted next to the Corton Clos du Roi, it fades a bit … will need some years to express some more complexity.

(Drink from 2035) – Very Fine (93-94p) – 1/10/2025 – 

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