Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
Les Epenottes is Dominique’s own vineyard. Comaprd to the Vignes Franches, this is of a similar pale pink-purple colour of middling depth, but a little darker in fruit on the nose, more discreet perhaps. In the mouth there is much more weight than I expect from this terroir, covering the palate all the way to the back, with a suavity to finish that needs nothing extra in the way of either tannins or acidity.
Barrel Sample: 91-93 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From another parcel where Lafon is responsible (since 2010) for the viticulture and purchases the resulting grapes, the 2019 Beaune 1er Cru Les Epenottes exhibits notes of cherries, sweet berries, orange oil and raw cocoa. Medium to full-bodied, lively and fine-boned, with a pretty core of fruit and ripe, powdery tannins, this is shaping up nicely.
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.