After spending several weeks in December tasting the 2024 Burgundies in barrel with premium UK specialist importer Musigny Wines and their owner Andrew Pavli, including visiting and tasting at several of Musigny Wines’s key UK exclusive agencies such as Domaine Jean-Yves Bizot, Kei Shiogai and Domaine Koji Nakada et Jae Hwa, it became evident during the final tasting with Koji Nakada that he happened to be good friends with Cécile Tremblay, another iconic Burgundy producer that I had not yet had the privilege to visit. But as they say, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, and after some kind introductions by Koji, Cécile Tremblay graciously agreed to host us for a tasting of a selection of her new 2024 wines.
Domaine Cécile Tremblay is considered one of the most exciting rising stars in Burgundy at the moment and is recognized for producing wines that beautifully capture the true essence of the Côte de Nuits terroir as seen through the lens of utmost purity, elegance, and weightless concentration – a style I often refer to as “the new Burgundy.” Cécile Tremblay also happens to be the great-niece of legendary Burgundy producer Henri Jayer and has made a name for herself with wines that are crafted with a focus on organic and biodynamic practices.
The domaine’s vineyards, spread across some of the finest terroirs in Burgundy, are meticulously tended to ensure that the grapes express the true character of the land. Tremblay’s wines are celebrated for their purity, finesse, and ability to age gracefully, making them highly sought-after by collectors and connoisseurs alike. Whether it’s her delicately fragrant Chambolle-Musigny or her more robust, muscular Nuits-Saint-Georges, each wine in the Domaine Cécile Tremblay portfolio is a testament to the artistry and dedication of her winemaking skills. “Since I started about ten plus years ago, my aim has been to care for the land, its subsoil, and all the species that live there. Therefore, I chose to work using organic and biodynamic farming methods on the four hectares of vines I cultivate, a large part of which comes from family land” Cécile explains.
The slowly growing Domaine Cécile Tremblay range now includes a Bourgogne Cote d’Or Rouge “La Croix Blanche” and village wines from Morey-Saint-Denis Très Girard, Chambolle-Musigny “Les Cabottes”, Vosne-Romanée “Vieilles Vignes” and Nuits-Saint-Georges “Albuca”. Her more ‘elevated’ vineyard sites include Premier Cru parcels from Chambolle-Musigny “Feusselottes”, Vosne-Romanée “Les Rouges du Dessus”, Vosne-Romanée “Les Beaumonts” and Nuits-Saint-Georges “Les Murgers”. Finally, Cécile also cultivates parcels of Grand Cru vines from some of the most sought-after vineyards in Burgundy including Chapelle-Chambertin, Echezeaux “du Dessus”, and from the 2024 vintage, a new parcel of famed Griotte-Chambertin.
But Cécile’s success has been earned through hard work, starting out as a young female winemaker in 2003 and only managing to build her cellar in 2012, with further building work completed in 2021. All the vineyards she cultivates lie between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin, farming organically since 2005 and biodynamically since 2016, thought she has chosen not to burden herself with the paperwork and bureaucracy of certification, rather preferring to let her wines do the talking. Though almost all the 2024 fruit harvested was 100% destemmed (tiny whole bunch fractions were included in the 2024 Grand Cru fermentations), the winemaking at the domaine often involves the use of a portion of stems during vinification, which takes place in wooden vats for up to a month, with some delicate punching down but very little pumping over. The tanks are then pressed at the end of fermentation with a small vertical press, and the wines are then raised in Burgundy barrels with between 33% and 66% new oak, for 15 to 18 months without racking. Cécile’s favoured cooper is Chassin, who works closely with her to select specific types of barrels and toasts of wood to suit her individual wine styles.
The incredibly difficult 2024 vintage has been well document by now with some of the worst flowering and yields seen in decades. While even just setting foot through the hallowed doors of Cécile’s cellar in Morey Saint Denis is considered a highly coveted privilege, this year Cécile took the decision not to taste several of her smaller production wines with any journalists or critics due to the tiny quantities produced and also not wanting to potentially compromise the wines in barrel with repeated opening and closing. For Cécile, the harvest started on September 19th 2024, with vines cropped at between 5 and 25 hl / ha depending on the specific vineyard. The Bourgogne and village level wines were particularly harshly impacted in 2024, more so than the Grand Cru sites.
Domaine Cécile Tremblay – Purity and Elegance Shine in 2024:
Domaine Cecile Tremblay Bourgogne Côte d’Or 2024
Racked one week prior before being tasted in January 2026, this is an extraordinarily beautifully fragrant wine showing seductive aromatics, lifted and oh so pretty, bursting with pink musk, black cherry, and saline black berries with a delicate dusting of limestone minerality. The energy and freshness on the palate are palpable, pulsing with energy and intensity, a soft under belly of fine-grained mineral tannins bolstering the elegant, finessed texture. Really very, very pretty indeed. Drink 2026 to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 90-92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Cecile Tremblay Morey Saint Denis Tres Girard 2024
A low yielding vintage at around 7 or 8 hl/ha, this is another beautiful wine displaying layers of blue and black berry fruits, and black cherry notes that intermingle with fragrant violets and a delicate sapidity. The palate is rich and concentrated, weightlessly intense with sweet black currants, savoury black cherry with a delicately minty nuance on the finish. With an earthy savoury undertone, this wine packs a lot of depth and complexity with a beautifully spicy finish. A truly enticing offering. Drink from 2026 to 2040+.
(Wine Safar Score: 92-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Cecile Tremblay Vosne Romanee Vieilles Vignes 2024
Made from grapes sourced from the Aux Commune and Les Jacquines lieu dits sites, this 2024 displays an incredibly intense perfumed aromatics brimming with violets and white blossoms over savoury dark black berry fruits, damson plum, black currant, and blue berries with subtle hints of earthy loam and subtle Asian spices. The palate depth is impressive, creamy, and almost lactic in texture, the tannins sweet and chocolatey with a picante cocoa spicy finish. Full and chalky, this wine is deceptively broad with notable extract and a real understated power. Drink 2027 to 2044+.
(Wine Safari Score: 93-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Cecile Tremblay Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Feusselottes 2024
The aromatics are intense and striking, piercingly fragrance and intensity, with layers of saline black berry and oyster shell intertwined with violets, red currants, wild strawberry and a hint of tart plum. Beautifully elegant in the mouth, this wine shows a tenderness, a seductive elegance and an understated weightless intensity, finishing with a gently brûléed, velvety oak kissed finish. Impressive intensity and candied, musk-laden complexity. A beautiful expression. Drink 2027 to 2044+.
(Fine Wine Safari: 93-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Cecile Tremblay Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Rouges 2024
Always a fresher cooler site facing northeast, this 2024 shows a bright, lifted, extroverted perfumed aromatics full of pink flowers, violets, musk, and delicately sappy notes over pronounced chalky limestone minerality and peppery spice. The fruit sits on the palate with a gentle glycerol weight, coating the mouth with a weightless intensity, more waves of spice and stony minerality, finishing with delicately tart, bright, savoury red and black berry fruits. Texturally linear and incredibly polished and precise, this wine harbours some real understated power and pedigree. Drink 2027 to 2044+.
(Wine Safari Score: 93-95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Cecile Tremblay Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Rouges 2023
When we finished the 2024 En-primeur barrel tasting, Cécile very kindly opened a ‘bottled’ 2023 Les Rouges for comparison. The aromatics are delightfully youthful, complex and broody recalling small, dark, saline black berried fruits, wild strawberry, and savoury bramble berry notes. The tannins are firm yet incredibly polished and precise, framing this elegantly pure cuvee handsomely, the mouthfeel beautifully harmonious and the fruit concentration supple, crystalline and intensely pure. Not the most common 1er Cru vineyard in Vosne Romanee but fast becoming one of my favourites! Drink from 2026 to 2042+.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Later in the evening, I shared a phenomenal dinner with importer Musigny Wines’ owner Andrew Pavli at La Lune restaurant in Beaune with another Burgundy sensation, Kei Shiogai, who Musigny Wines import exclusively into the UK, and who also happens to be a massive fan of Cécile’s delicious fine wines. With a short but well-chosen selection of wines on the La Lune list, we sniffed out another two delightful 2021 wines from the Domaine Tremblay lineup which we enjoyed over dinner and who’s notes are included below.
Domaine Cecile Tremblay Chambolle Musigny Les Cabottes 2021, 13% Abv.
This crisp fresh low yielding vintage shares a lot in common with the 2024 styling at many domaines. The delicious Cabottes 2021 is beautifully complex showing cardamom, red currant, wild strawberry and earthy brambly fruits. This wine is all about freshness, precision and energy which really shines on the palate with a bristling acidity, tart nervy red and black berry fruits and taut polished linear tannins. But don’t be fooled, despite the tension, there is plenty of flesh on the bone. Stunning purity, focus and intensity. Drink 2026 to 2042+.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Cecile Tremblay Morey Saint Denis Tres Gerard 2021, 13% Abv.
This is a thoroughly classic Morey with intense notes of blue and black berry fruits, violets, black cherry and subtle lactic nuances. On the palate, the tension and acidity slightly mask the fruit depth, but given time in the glass, the power, weightless concentration and fruit power really shine without defeating Cecile’s philosophical mission of finesse and elegance with terroir character. A really impressive wine showing beautifully already. Drink now to 2044+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Many thanks to Andrew Pavli at Musigny Wines for unlocking the cellar doors of some of Burgundy’s most sought-after producers for me to review. Contact Musigny Wines to learn about new release allocations from some of Burgundies most iconic growers.
Andrew@musigny.wine
