THE DOMAINE

Domaine Stephane Magnien is located in Morey-Saint-Denis. The range is very exciting, with not only Morey-Saint-Denis Villages and 1er Cru but also some Chambolle-Musigny Villages, 1er Cru, a Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru and a Clos St Denis Grand Cru.

There are also some regional appellations. A very complete range with 80% of the vineyards in the commune of Morey-Saint-Denis.

Founded in 1847 by Victor Magnien, the domaine’s holdings cover 4.5 hectares, with an average vine age of around 50 years. There is a high proportion of Pinot Tordu, a clone of Pinot Noir producing particularly small berries.

Stephane is the fourth generation to run the estate, the family having started to make wine at the beginning of the 1900s. The chai is in the family house, dating back from the 18th century. Jean-Paul Magnien, Stephane’s father, was the first to bottle the wines under the family name, rather than selling them to negociants. Stephane took over in 2008, which was his first solo vintage.

The 2021 vintage will be released later in 2023.

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VITICULTURE AND WINEMAKING

The domaine’s vineyard work is carried out by hand. Strict green harvesting helps to control yields and maintain concentration. The grapes are sorted in the vineyard at harvest time. Pesticides and herbicides are avoided. Historically all the work of ploughing was done by horse although in the late ‘80s, small tractors were introduced. A living soil is very much a priority here, as is a deep root network.

Winemaking is traditional and minimal-intervention. All grapes are destemmed with the exception of the Aligoté. Fermentation lasts about two weeks using wild yeast, in stainless steel tanks. This is Stephane’s only nod to modernism: after taking over from his father, he replaced the 50 year-old oak tanks with stainless steel ones.

Stephane looks for elegance, a sense of fruit and terroir expression. He does not force extraction. The reds are aged in barrel for up to two years, in “new” barrels (by which Stephane actually means one-to-five year-old barrels!) for the first year and in “used” ones afterwards. It can be inferred that new oak use is minimal! The village wines see 10% of “new” oak, the premiers crus about 20-25% and the grands crus about 30-35%. The wines are bottled without filtration and fining.