Winemaker Notes
Endless aromas of red and black berries with sweet spices. The palate has the same great character: full-bodied, with firm but fine tannins and a vibrant minerality.
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
A fair density of crimson purple. There is more substance to the fruit on the nose than the Pommard or Volnay. Only a frost problem, otherwise stayed completely healthy. There is a sensual, velvety red fruit right across the palate, less of the peppery note at the finish, and considerable length. Less rugged than sometimes Grèves can be, this should work well in the medium term.
Barrel Sample: 91-93 -
Decanter
The succulent aromas of ripe cherries with notes of peony, liquorice, and earth are immediately appealing. The texture is supple and silky, with soft tannins, balanced acidity, and good length. The domaine farms a hectare in Grèves, all in the upper portion of the lieu-dit on its southern side; Guillaume Lavollée notes that because of its sandy nature, it dries more quickly in the rain. He destems the grapes and ferments gently on native yeast with a single punching down before ageing in cask.
Barrel Sample: 92
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.