Michel Gay & Fils Beaune-Coucherias Premier Cru Vieilles Vignes 2011
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2012-
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The first thing Sébastien did was to eliminate all herbicides in the vineyards and convert to an organic approach. He lives in his vineyards and tends each vine with exacting detail.
When you meet Sebastien Gay, you are instantly charmed. Sebastien is forever breaking into an infectious smile. His cheeks light up and then you realize the smile stems from his embarrassment at receiving all the well-deserved praise being heaped upon him. Sebastien has ample reason for grin from ear to ear. The wines embody his humble demeanor, drawing you in and capturing your attention with their unsullied, vibrant character.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A classic source of exceptional Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir, the Côte de Beaune makes up the southern half of the Côte d’Or. Its principal wine-producing villages are Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet.
The area is named for its own important town of Beaune, which is essentially the center of the Burgundy wine business and where many negociants center their work. Hospices de Beaune, the annual wine auction, is based here as well.