Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru, Olivier Bernstein 2020 (3x75cl OWC)

Description

“He has been the most meteoric rise I have witnessed in the region” – Jancis Robinson

Having studied oenology in Beaune, Olivier started his apprenticeship with a harvest at Domaine Rouget, where in 2002 he got to meet the late Henri Jayer. He moved to Roussillion soon after to establish his own domaine, Mas de la Deveze, before returning to Burgundy to create his own negociant business. He is part of a growing breed of micro-négociants; talented young winemakers who don’t own their own vineyards due to increasingly prohibitive land prices, but instead buy in grapes from a network of growers in prime locations. Unlike the traditional negociant system in Burgundy where buyers have little influence in the vineyard, micro-négociants and particularly Bernstein manage the whole process from the vineyard until bottling. They tend to focus on tiny quantities; often a barrel or two and mostly in grand or premier cru vineyards. Olivier has set the bar high and his wines now easily compete with the top domaines of Burgundy.

By Jeb Dunnuck in 2023 (JD96)

The 2020 Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru is still young and unevolved and hasn’t developed much complexity, but don’t hold that against it, since it has remarkable purity, concentration, and length. Offering a darker fruit style, with classic underbrush, spice, and earthy notes, it stays straight and focused on the palate, with a good spine of acidity as well as building tannins. It has an awesome finish. Hide bottles for 4-5 years, and it’s going to evolve for 20 years.

By Vinous Media (VM93-95)