Stéphane Magnien Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru ‘Les Faconnières’ 2022

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Stéphane Magnien

For many years we have been enjoying wines from Domaine Jean Paul and Stéphane Magnien. A small domaine in Morey-Saint-Denis that makes superb, subtle, and old-fashioned wines of terroir from their 4.5 hectares. This tiny Domaine was established in 1897 by Victor Magnien. In 113 years of winemaking, there has only been 4 winemakers! Victor’s son Felix, then Felix ‘s son Jean-Paul and Jean-Paul’s son, Stéphane, who is now in charge.

In the Vineyard

The domaine is proud to say that for four generations they have not used herbicides, using plowing by horse and tractor to preserve the microbial life of the soil and force the vine’s roots to descend more deeply, pulling great typicity from the terroir.

The Domaine has a wonderful selection of vineyard in Morey St Denis and Chambolle Musigny, right in the heart of the Cote de Nuit. They range from perfectly situated village parcels to 1er cru and Grand Cru.

There is a high percentage of old vines in their parcels, including a great deal of “Pinot Tordu,” a small-berried,  aromatic old clone of Pinot.

In the Winery

“Far from ‘vins médiatique’ you will find  a subtle wine, well-structured, respecting the terroir and the vintage, with great length on the palate… all in finesse.

Stéphane chaptalizes only to extend fermentations – these are wines which his father Jean-Paul used to describe as ‘sage en alcool’ – from 12 to 13% – the old vines do not make much alcohol. Wood use is also discreet, even though Stéphane has increased the proportion, he does not exceed 50% new wood on the Grands Crus, 25% on the Premiers Crus and on the village appellations, 15% new wood for one year only, then all into older barrels.

Stéphane says that he aims to make wines with more richness than his father’s, ‘but not black angular wines which have less relief. Wines which leave your mouth clean and clear, refreshed and revived and, above all, wanting another glass’. He destems 100%, gives the grapes a six-day maceration, then a classical fermentation with just two pigeages, and a little remontage (pumping over) at the end.

The wines are bottled without fining or filtration.

The wines of Chambolle Musigny are renowned for producing beautifully fragrant and perfumed wines with incredible finesse and length of palate.

The wines of Morey St Denis combines the fineness of Chambolle Musigny and the structure of Gevrey Chambertin, they have a little more grunt and sauvage character.

The 2022 Vintage at Domaine Stéphane Magnien?

Stéphane Magnien if the 4th generation to run this small but well-endowed 4.5 ha domaine. His quick take on the 2022 vintage was that “finally we had reasonable yields, which is to say normal but not high at between 40 to 45 hl/ha. The growing season was very hot and dry yet the vines didn’t really suffer much hydric stress. We did have some sunburned berries but those were easy to sort out. We picked from the 31st of August and the fruit was definitely ripe but importantly, not over ripe. One interesting aspect is that the potential alcohols were very good at between 13 and 13.5% yet there was essentially no difference between the regional wines and the grand crus! In any event, nothing was chaptalized. I had no trouble with the vinifications and I have now switched to using commercial yeasts as it gives me both a smoother fermentation with no risk of off odors or flavors. As to the wines, I’m actually pretty happy with them as they are fresh, balanced and for such a warm growing season, offer excellent terroir transparency.” I have to agree with Magnien’s take as I too was very impressed and in particular, the Monts Luisants and Clos St. Denis are absolutely spectacular.

Allen Meadows, Burghound

Where in the World is Domaine Stéphane Magnien?

Domaine Stéphane Magnien is based in Morey-Saint-Denis with additional holdings in Chambolle-Musigny.