2017 Savigny Les Beaune

Andrew Nielsen is one of our favourite micro-negociants operating in Burgundy today. His talent lies in uncovering hidden gems amongst Village and Premier Cru parcels in Beaune and Savigny les Beaune to make the fabulous Le Grappin wines, whose raison d'etre is to express distinct terroir character beyond their humble village status. Organic viticulture and minimal intervention, along with meticulous hand sorting, produce beautiful expressions of very pure Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These are well worth the attention of any savvy Burgundy buyer. It is a great pleasure to get to know these charming wines that might escape the mainstream Burgundy collection but offer fantastic terroir and vintage snapshots at unbeatable prices. The Savigny Les Beaune Rouge is from a 60 year old parcel of the Aux Fournaux lieu dit, which lies at the junction with Pernand-Vergelesse and Aloxe-Corton – benefiting from the racy fruit of the former and the structured tannins of the latter. Only nine barrels were made, and this pure expression of Savigny fruit is simply delightful. The Beaune Premier Cru Les Greves Blanc is from 50 year old vines from the most famous vineyard in the heartland of Beaune, though it is known primarily for reds. This is from the only parcel of Chardonnay in Les Greves and adjacent to Bouchard’s ‘Les Vignes d’Enfant Jesus’. Having skipped the 2016 vintage, we are delighted that this beauty has made a reappearance in 2017, a fantastic vintage for white Burgundy. Andrew sources the fruit for his Beaune Boucherottes from two adjoining parcels of 44 and 26 year old vines, located between the southern end of the Clos des Mouches premier cru and next to Pommard’s Les Epenots premier cru. The deep clay soil gives a lush, full bodied quality to the wine, which is exquisitely balanced by the lightness of touch style of winemaking. Again, only nine barrels were made and this Boucherottes shines brightly in the range displaying that fruit purity and well-judged winemaking that defines all of the Le Grappin wines. This Savigny Les Beaune comes from a selected set of vine rows from the Aux Fourneaux vineyard, of which half is village appellation and the other half declared Premier Cru. The wine has a lovely redcurrant and wild strawberry fruit profile with an added sappiness typical of Savigny. Beautifully pure scented aromatics and lovely mid-palate concentration. The purity is delightful and makes those hours of hand sorting all worthwhile.