Saint-Aubin
1er Cru Sur Gamay 2020
With its prestigious Premiers Crus, Saint-Aubin in the Côte de Beaune holds a place among the great wines; no doubt the select ‘Côte des Blancs’ coterie will soon be expanding to four.
Origin
The vines are mainly planted on the right flank of the broad combe which meanders towards La Rochepot. The appellation area is spread over two different massifs: one, the Montagne de Savoie, which ends the Côte d'Or and the other with the mountain of Ban which is perpendicular.
This second slope houses the climate "Sur Gamay", located near the appellation of Puligny-Montrachet. The slope is strong and the vine is oriented to the east. The climate is called "Gamay", causing some confusion with the variety of the same name, because the plot is located above the hamlet called Gamay (part of Saint-Aubin). The plot is also called "Sous Roche Dumay" which is close to the climat "Les Murgers des Dents de Chien".
Viticulture
Grape variety: chardonnay
Soils: white, very limestone and stony.
Orientation: South
Surface area under vine: 0.3040 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 51 hL/ha
Average age of the vine:32 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 26 August 2020.
The grapes were handpicked.
At the winery: The whole bunches of grapes were gently pressed for 2½ hours. The temperature of the must was brought down to 12°C then was immediately transferred to barrels of 450L with no settling to preserve a maximum of lees. Long fermentation using indigenous yeasts for added complexity and freshness.
Ageing
Maturation: aged for 12 months with no racking or stirring to bring out all of this wine’s minerality. 43% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: Oak of French origin toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a subtle, delicate touch of oak were used.
Bottling
Bottling: The wine was bentonite fined and very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in September 2021.
Number of bottles: 2,100.
Vintage
Balanced and concentrated
The harvests happened back-to-front! They began with the reds ripening before the whites. The harvest was very disease-free but we had to eliminate sunburnt berries, especially in the case of the Pinot Noir vines as the Chardonnays had coped better with the heat. Quality was definitely good, but relatively low juice yields has resulted in Pinot Noirs with high colour and aromatic intensity. On the other hand, the Chardonnay vines produced adequate yields with a good balance of sugar and acidity. This optimal ripeness enabled us to harvest the red grapes in certain plots according to the ‘vendange entière’ approach, where stalks are fermented along with the grapes.
'Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential. Summer fruit coulis notes definitely have the upper hand in this year’s vintage! The whites are nicely-balanced, but it’s too early to be more precise. Watch this space…’ Grégory Patriat.
Ageing potential: between 7 to 12 years.
Tasting notes
The color is pale yellow. The racy nose will seduce you with its delicate aromas of fresh hazelnuts and citrus fruits associated with some toasted notes. On the palate, the wine is chiseled and very well balanced. A "caressing" finish!
