Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is exactly what Burgundy and pinot-noir freaks around Planet Wine are looking for. Enveloping nose of red and black raspberries that's really hard to resist. So concentrated, suave and sophisticated on the rich but very precisely balanced palate. Extremely long and silky finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the highlights of the range is the 2020 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches (Domaine), a nicely balanced cuvée that wafts from the glass with aromas of cassis, raspberries, orange rind, loamy soil and peonies. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and elegant, with ripe tannins, lively acids and a saline finish, it will offer a broad drinking window.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Wine Spectator
This elegant version is packed with ripe black cherry, plum, sandalwood, cedar and spice flavors. Its beam of acidity keeps everything focused as mineral and leafy vegetal notes emerge. Shows fine balance, with a lingering aftertaste of fruit, licorice and spice.
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.