Winemaker Notes
Les Grèves is voluptuous and structured with aromas and flavors of bright red fruit and mineral notes. The flavor is intense and powerful but is delivered on the palate with finesse. Aging in 30% new Burgundian pièce brings notes of vanilla and spice. The vines were planted between 1969 and 1987.
Red Burgundy might be the world’s most flexible food wine. The wine’s high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, and low tannins make it very food-friendly. Red Burgundy, with its earthy and sometimes gamey character, is a classic partner to roasted game birds, grilled duck breast, and dishes that feature mushrooms, black truffles, or are rich in umami.
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
An even purple, not the deepest in the cellar. This is youthful, more backward than the others. A mix of red and black fruit with some useful points of acidity, a crunchier style of wine, still with the hallmark François Frères oak. More structure here than the preceding wines in the range. Another barrel had an extra layer of velvet, confirming the fourth star. Barrel Sample: 91-93
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Vinous
The 2023 Beaune Les Grèves 1er Cru presents red berry and sous-bois on the nose, with plenty of freshness and vitality. The palate is medium-bodied with a little more depth and sinew than the Clos de Roi, yet the tannins are supple and fine with a pure finish. Recommended.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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.”
While the city represents the epicenter of wine production in Burgundy, the term, “Beaune” also refers to the specific sub-appellation of the greater Côte de Beaune, whose vineyards climb up the pastoral slopes that border the city to its west. Originally founded as a Roman camp by Julius Caesar, the city of Beaune eventually became the seat of the dukes of Burgundy until the 13th century. Today it is home to top négociants such as Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour, and Bouchard Père et Fils.
The appellation, dominated by Pinot Noir plantings, represents a lovely and charming place to begin to understand red Burgundy. Its sandy soils create light and supple, floral driven Pinot Noir. These wines are designed to be enjoyed within five to 10 years. The vineyards of Beaune span a broad swath of Premier Crus from Savigny-lès-Beaune to its border with Pommard.
Chardonnay acreage here has been increasing here in the more recent years.