"This is a Gevrey producer that has come on leaps and bounds in the last decade and the market has not really caught up."  Neal Martin, Vinous, Nov '24

"Charles Magnien continues his rapid ascent through the Burgundian firmament."  William Kelley, Wine Advocate, Jan '22

On a grey afternoon in Gevrey-Chambertin at the end of November, we left the swish tasting room at Drouhin Laroze (log fire, jazz playing in the background) and tracked down Charles Magnien in his rather austere concrete-clad winery on the edge of Gevrey.  We have been fans of the wines for a while, but this was our first visit.  Despite the visit threatening to extend into our dinner time, for the next couple of hours, we were entranced by Charles.  As a rising star of the Côte de Nuits, we are very pleased to have secured allocations of his wines to offer en primeur this year.

Before we had even crossed the yard to the winery door, Charles explained to us that Domaine Henri Magnien was established in 1656, making him a twelfth-generation winemaker; that the family even have their own 'clone' of Pinot Noir, Pinot Magnien, discovered in a vineyard in 1850, which now persists in various 100-year-old vines, used to propagate new stocks; and the domaine's 8 hectares, are principally in Gevrey, including an exceptional 1.47 hectares of the famous Cazetiers premier cru, which lies just at the back of the winery.  Charles went on to explain how this plot runs from top to bottom of the vineyard, crossing the various complex terroirs that occur in this site, making their Cazetiers the most representative of the climat.    

Charles worked alongside his father from 2009, but it was only in 2021 that he took over fully.  In twelve generations, he is the first Magnien to domaine-bottle all of the wines (previously, some fruit and wine was sold to negociants or other domaines).  He also converted to organic viticulture and clearly has a phenomenal work ethic, willing to work the vines at all hours and at weekends. 

Once in the winery itself, Charles channelled his inner 'mad genius', giving us a dizzying explanation of his experiments with different types of oak, which he takes to a level we have never seen, exploring the partnership between wine and oak with amazing detail. 

Not content with the options available from the cooperages, Charles works exclusively with Tonnellerie Cavin and buys his oak green, seasoning it himself for several years, before having it made into barrels to his own specification.  Using oak principally from Fontainbleu and Chatillons, his aim is not to make oaky wines, but to match the origin, grain and porosity of each piece of wood to the wine it is intended for!  Our hurried notes are probably not 100% accurate, but what we took away was that, not content with the plaudits for his recent vintages, he is trying continually to refine and further his talent. 

We tasted wines from barrel after barrel, and in every case the wood only served to highlight the various terroirs of Gevrey, as well as the domaines holdings in Corton.  When the tasting was finally over, we left feeling it was one of the most extraordinary we had been fortunate to attend in some years.  Charles' wines are exceptionally elegant and quite as intense as the man who makes them.  We recommend adding them to your cellar whilst they are still relatively affordable. 

Stocks of all wines are extremely limited.  Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to order.

Offered en primeur, landing Autumn 2026.