From the domaine's 2.2-hectares, the 2013 Gevrey-Chambertin Seuvrees Vieilles Vignes comes from older vines on the upper part of the vineyard (the vines planted back in 1942). The nose is refined and elegant with fresh strawberry, macerated dark cherries and a touch of iodine, all with a modern sheen even though Frederic Magnien practices prudent use of new wood. The palate is supple and lithe on the entry, a little chewy in the mouth with bold tannins, the wood nicely folded into the fruit, with a young and supple finish and a dash of white pepper on the aftertaste. Fine.

The 2012 Gevrey Chambertin les Seuvrees Vieilles Vignes has an open bouquet with punnets of strawberry, touches of chalk dust and cold stone. The palate is sweet on the entry with crisp strawberry and red cherry fruit. The tannins are fine but there is just a touch of dryness toward the finish that nags away. Enjoy this over the next 3-4 years.

The 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Seuvrees Vieilles Vignes is pure Gevrey in its focused personality and sinewy fruit. It reveals gorgeous length and plenty of drive in a slightly clenched style. Blue and black fruit, flowers and mint are some of the notes that linger on the highly attractive finish. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. (Not yet released) Importer: North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 336-9880

The 2009 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Seuvrees Vieilles Vignes caresses the palate with textured fruit underpinned by lively minerality. The finish turns a bit more delicate, with sweet dark cherries and flowers that linger on the close. These vines were planted in 1942. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2021. My tasting with Frederic Magnien spanned several dozen offerings. Magnien bottles two lines; the Domaine Michel Magnien range is made from estate-owned vineyards, while the Maison Frederic Magnien wines are made exclusively from purchased grapes and/or vineyards the Maison farms through long-term contracts. If that sounds confusing, welcome to Burgundy! In layman's terms the Domaine bottlings carry a black label, while the Maison wines carry a white label. Both sets of wines are vinified at Magnien's new facility in Morey St. Denis. In reality, though, each range has its own winery within the same building, which leads to some fascinating differences in the wines, which I explain below. The Domaine Michel Magnien wines are rich, sumptuous Burgundies. The fruit is 100% destemmed. In 2009 Magnien used 30% new oak for the villages, 50% for the 1ers and 100% for the grand crus. The wines spent about nine months in oak. After the malos, the wines were racked into older, neutral oak where they finished their elevage. I find the house style a big factor in these 2009s, in fact there are fewer differences from wine to wine as one might reasonably expect in such a broad selection of appellations. My sense is that the 2009s here are destined for early drinking. Since 2008 the Domaine Michel Magnien vineyards have begun the process towards conversion to biodynamic farming. All of the 2009s were bottled in February 2011. Importers: North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 336-9880