Savigny-Lès-Beaune
1er Cru Aux Guettes 2019
Balance and maturity are the two words that come to mind when Savigny’s vineyards are mentioned.
They are located three kilometres 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.
Located on the hillside below the Chenôve Woods to the east of the village, the plot "Aux Guettes" is facing due south. The soil is quite complex: mixture of limestone pebbles, scree and clay. This is one of the most famous climates of the appellation.
The name "Guettes" has its origin in the verb "watch". The name thus indicated the places in altitude where one could supervise the country and the roads.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: complex, mixture of limestone, scree and clay.
Orientation: South
Surface area under vine: 0.5633 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 32 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 45 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 18 & 19 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 19 days including 5 days cold (12 ° C): Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). Vinification without sulfur. 2 punchings of the cap.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 8 months with no racking using a proportion of 37% 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 August 2020, the wine was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity.
Number of bottles: 2,409.
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 brilliant garnet red. The complex nose exudes intense aromas of peonies and jammy red fruits. On the palate, this gourmet and rather structured wine reveals a slightly spicy finish.
