2012 Maison L'Oree Charmes-Chambertin

Maison L’Orée is a negociant house created by Rajat Parr, a celebrated San Francisco sommelier, and Charles Banks, an entrepreneur and former owner of Screaming Eagle. Parr was already a well-known wine director for the Michael Mina restaurants when he started making wine in 2004 in California’s Central Coast. He has continued to collaborate with vineyard owners and winemakers in California creating numerous wines, some under the Sandhi label. He and Banks debuted their first Burgundy with a 2009 vintage and are now producing more than a dozen red and white Burgundies under the Maison L’Orée label. The estate produces Premier Cru and villages wines.

Charmes-Chambertin is a 78-acre Grand Cru vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin that traditionally includes the acreage of nearby Mazoyeres-Chambertin. For nearly 200 years the growers of Mazoyeres have been legally allowed to sell their wines under the more famous name of Charmes-Chambertin, and virtually all of them do. Charmes-Chambertin is the largest of the Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Crus, and it generally has an excellent reputation. The slope of the vineyard is gentle and the surface soil poor. But producers including Joseph Roty, Christian Serafin, Domaine Dujac, Faiveley and Joseph Drouhin are acclaimed for their Charmes Chambertin. Principal landholders are Camus, with 14.75 acres; Perrot-Minot, 4 acres; and Armand Rousseau, 3.5 acres.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.