Savigny-Lès-Beaune
1er Cru Aux Serpentières 2019
Balance and maturity are the words that come to mind when one evokes the vineyard of Savigny, three kilometers north of Beaune.
Origin
Savigny’s vineyards form a V-shape and are located at the meeting place of a valley and the plain, offering some of the most picturesque scenery in the Côte d’Or. These vineyards are of ancient lineage. For much of their history, they belonged to the domaine of the Dukes of Bourgogne, to neighbouring religious houses, or to the Knights of Malta. An imposing 14th century castle testifies to the appellation's aristocratic qualifications.
This climat is exposed full south. It was formerly called "les serpentines" from the name of a grass snake species. But this place name could also designate paths that "snaked" through the vines, at the time when they were planted "en foule" (in a mass) and not in straight rows. These paths would have been compared to serpents and been given this name thanks to this metaphor!
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: stony with some red clays.
Orientation: South
Surface area under vine: 0.2193 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 40 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 70 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 20 September 2019.
The grapes were sorted a first time in the vineyard and a second time on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: the grapes were 50% destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration with 50% whole bunches of 20 days including 4 days cold (12 ° C): Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). Vinification without sulfur. 3 punchings of the cap.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 15 months with no racking using a proportion of 25% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time for very delicate oaking.
Bottling
Bottling in February 2021, the wine was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity.
Number of bottles: 1,176.
Vintage
A legendary vintages?
According to Grégory Patriat, this second harvest at the Ursulines winery will go down as a legendary vintage just like 1969, 1979, 1999, 2009, and 2019, because the concentration in the wines is very high indeed. Years with drought and low yields are always great vintages in Burgundy. We had some new premier crus come online last year, with three in Chambolle-Musigny, one in Gevrey-Chambertin, and one in Nuits-Saint-Georges; Le Clos des Argillères. Furthermore, we revived our tradition of producing white wines in villages better known for their reds, with a white Fixin.
Ageing potential: from 7 to 10 years.
Tasting notes
The color is shiny and garnet. The nose reveals intense aromas of peonies, red fruits and some slightly woody notes. On the palate, this suave and voluptuous wine reveals a beautiful freshness.
