Gevrey-Chambertin 'Les Murots', Domaine du Clos Frantin, 2022
Gevrey-Chambertin 'Les Murots', Domaine du Clos Frantin, 2022
- Red Still
- 75.0cl
- 13.5%
- Organic
- Pinot Noir
Domaine du Clos Frantin is one of Burgundy's quietly distinguished addresses, owned by the négociant house Albert Bichot but operating with genuine domaine discipline — farming its own vineyards, making its wines with care, and letting the sites speak. Les Murots is a lieu-dit in Gevrey-Chambertin, sitting on the village's characteristic Bathonian limestone and iron-rich clay, and the 2022 has all the character you'd hope for: a wine of real definition, with that cool, stony backbone that separates proper Gevrey from the broader Côte de Nuits crowd.
The 2022 vintage gave Burgundy generous, ripe fruit without sacrificing tension, and Les Murots sits in that sweet spot — red cherry and wild strawberry with an iron and violet savouriness, a silky texture, and a finish that lingers with precision rather than weight.
- ❖ ABV: 13.5%
Grapes
Pinot Noir
Vintage report
The 2022 growing season in Burgundy began with a worryingly dry spring that had vignerons checking soil moisture levels weekly, followed by a summer that alternated between intense heat and welcome rainfall. The vines handled the stress remarkably well, producing smaller berries with concentrated flavours, though yields dropped significantly across both the Côte d'Or and Chablis. Harvest began earlier than usual, with many producers picking in late August under bright skies.
What emerged from the cellars shows a vintage of surprising finesse given the challenging conditions. The Pinot Noirs display vivid fruit and firm tannins without the jammy weight you might expect from a hot year, whilst the Chardonnays retained their mineral backbone alongside ripe stone fruit flavours. We're finding the village-level wines particularly compelling right now, drinking beautifully with just a year or two of bottle age, though the premier and grand crus will reward patience until the late 2020s.
Tasting Notes
AppearanceClear, mid-ruby with a translucent garnet rim — classic village Gevrey in its youth.
NoseRed cherry, dried cranberry, and a whisper of wild strawberry up front, then the vineyard asserts itself: iron, damp stone, dried violet, and a faint suggestion of forest floor. The oak is well-integrated and adds a light, toasty frame rather than competing for attention.
PalateSilky and precise rather than broad, with bright acidity keeping everything taut. The fruit is generous — that 2022 ripeness is there — but it's held in check by a structural backbone of fine tannin and cool minerality. There's a pleasant grip on the mid-palate that gives the wine real form.
FinishLong and stony, fading through red fruit and iron with a clean, cool persistence.
Overall impressionA properly serious village Gevrey with the bones to reward a few more years in the rack.
Food Pairings
In Gevrey itself, this sort of wine finds its natural home at a table with something robust from Burgundian tradition. Coq au vin made with a glug of the same village wine is the obvious match — the iron and earth in the Pinot locks onto the braised chicken in a way that feels almost designed. Boeuf bourguignon is equally convincing, particularly if the beef has had a long, slow time in the pot. Locals would also reach for époisses or Comté at the cheese course, both Burgundian classics that handle the wine's structure without flinching. A simple roast guinea fowl with thyme and garlic is perhaps the most elegant pairing of all.
We think this wine would go well with
Serve at around 16°C — cool enough to keep the acidity fresh and the aromas precise, but not so cold that the tannins tighten up. A short decant of 30 to 45 minutes will help open the wine if you're drinking it in the next year or two; once it's had four or five years in bottle, it should need no more than a gentle pour into a good Burgundy glass. A large-bowled, tulip-shaped glass is the right call here — it gives the aromatics room to gather without losing the wine's inherent precision.
Les Murots lies on the flatter, village-level land of Gevrey-Chambertin, where soils are a mix of Bathonian limestone rubble, iron-rich brown clay, and alluvial deposits washed down from the hillside over centuries. It sits lower than the premier and grand cru slopes, which means slightly deeper, more moisture-retentive soils and a touch more generosity in the fruit. The iron content in the clay is partly responsible for that distinctive metallic, almost bloody savouriness that marks out Gevrey from its southern neighbours. Drainage here is decent but not as sharp as on the slope, so the vintage's warmth and timing matter more at village level than further up the hill.
Gevrey-Chambertin is the largest appellation in the Côte de Nuits and arguably the most famous name in all of red Burgundy — home to nine grand crus including Chambertin itself, the vineyard Napoleon reportedly insisted on travelling with. At village level, the wines are broader in frame than Vosne or Chambolle, with more structure, darker fruit, and that iron-and-earth savouriness that is essentially the appellation's signature. The rules are straightforward Burgundy AOC: Pinot Noir only, with maximum yields around 45 hl/ha at village level. The sheer size of the appellation means quality varies enormously, so grower identity matters here more than almost anywhere else on the Côte.
The 2022 growing season in Burgundy began with a worryingly dry spring that had vignerons checking soil moisture levels weekly, followed by a summer that alternated between intense heat and welcome rainfall. The vines handled the stress remarkably well, producing smaller berries with concentrated flavours, though yields dropped significantly across both the Côte d'Or and Chablis. Harvest began earlier than usual, with many producers picking in late August under bright skies.
What emerged from the cellars shows a vintage of surprising finesse given the challenging conditions. The Pinot Noirs display vivid fruit and firm tannins without the jammy weight you might expect from a hot year, whilst the Chardonnays retained their mineral backbone alongside ripe stone fruit flavours. We're finding the village-level wines particularly compelling right now, drinking beautifully with just a year or two of bottle age, though the premier and grand crus will reward patience until the late 2020s.
FAQs
What does Gevrey-Chambertin Les Murots taste like?
Think red cherry, dried violet, and wild strawberry over a foundation of iron, damp stone, and forest floor. It's silky in texture but structured — more precision than generosity, which is exactly what good Gevrey should be.
When is the best time to drink this wine?
It's approachable now with a short decant, but it will be more rewarding from around 2027 onwards. The sweet spot is likely 2029 to 2035, when the primary fruit has integrated and the secondary complexity is fully developed. It should hold well until 2038.
What food works well with this wine?
Burgundian classics are the safest bet: coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, or a simple roast guinea fowl. At the cheese course, Époisses or aged Comté are both excellent matches. The wine has enough structure for robust dishes but enough elegance not to overwhelm something finer.
Should I decant this wine?
Yes, a short decant of 30 to 45 minutes is worth it for the 2022 at this stage. As the wine ages into the late 2020s and beyond, it should open up more readily with just a good pour into a large Burgundy glass.
Is Domaine du Clos Frantin a reliable producer?
Very much so. It's part of the Albert Bichot group but operates as a proper domaine with its own vineyards farmed with care. The wines are consistently well-made and express their sites clearly — which at Gevrey village level puts them ahead of a lot of the competition.
How does Les Murots compare to premier or grand cru Gevrey?
Les Murots is a village-level lieu-dit, so it sits below the premier crus in the hierarchy. It lacks the sheer intensity and longevity of a Lavaux Saint-Jacques or a Cazetiers, but it shares the same Gevrey DNA — that iron, stone, and red-fruit character — at a much friendlier price. Think of it as the honest, everyday expression of what makes Gevrey great.
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