2018 Bruno Clavelier Corton Grand Cru 'Le Rognet'

The 2018 Bruno Clavelier Corton Grand Cru 'Le Rognet' is a single-vineyard Pinot Noir from the southern slope of the Corton hill, where iron-rich clay and limestone deliver the mineral drive and structure that make Grand Cru Burgundy worth the trouble. Le Rognet is one of the most storied parcels on the hillside, and Bruno Clavelier has farmed it biodynamically since 2005, certified and committed, continuing a family tradition of chemical-free viticulture that began with his grandfather decades before organic became a certification category. The 2018 vintage shows the tension that defines serious Burgundy: big, muscular flavors wrapped in a velvety mid-palate, then a chiseled, mineral-driven finish that refuses to let the wine settle into softness. Bruno Clavelier succeeded his grandfather at the family's 6.5-hectare domaine in Vosne-Romanée, a grandfather who pioneered organic farming in the region long before the term appeared on a label. The estate bottled its first vintage in 1988 after decades of selling fruit to négociants, and today some 95% of the vineyards are planted to Pinot Noir Fin, the old massal-selection clones propagated by hand from the best parcels in Vosne-Romanée. Most of the estate's vines were planted in the 1930s and 1940s, earning Vieilles Vignes designation, and the resulting naturally low yields deliver concentration without extraction. Clavelier's winemaking is minimal-intervention by design, so the vineyard speaks without winemaking noise layered on top. The wine delivers first-rate vibrancy, a sense of detail and definition that comes from old vines, biodynamic soil health, and a winemaker who knows when to step back. The 2018 vintage is intense but not heavy, with a mid-palate texture that softens the mineral backbone until the finish arrives and reminds you this is Corton, not something softer. Pair it with roasted game birds, braised beef short ribs, or a serious wedge of aged Comté. The wine will improve over the next decade and hold for two more beyond that. In stock at Off Premise in Lincoln Park.