2001 Serafin Charmes-Chambertin

Domaine Christian Serafin is in Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy. The 12-acre domaine includes parcels in Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St.-Denis and Chambolle-Musigny. The domaine’s grand cru is Charmes-Chambertin and there are several premier crus produced too. Christian Serafin’s father, Stanislaus, arrived in France from his native Poland in the late 1930s and worked as a cabinet maker before joining the Polish resistance during World War II. After the war, Stanislaus found agricultural work in Gevrey and began buying parcels of land. By the late 1950s Christian was working with his father in the vineyards. Christian has operated the domaine since 1988, with help from his daughter and niece. Burgundy expert Clive Coates has written that “Serafin’s wines are full-bodied, meaty, and abundantly rich, with a good touch of spice, and are nicely oaky rather than excessively so.”

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.