Savigny-Lès-Beaune
Les Planchots 2020
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
This appellation boasts 180 ha of “Village” appellation. 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.
The climate "Les Planchots" is located at the entrance to the Savigny-Lès-Beaune valley, close to the national road. The Rhoin river runs through the middle of the plot.
Planchot is the Burgundian derivative of Planche (from late Latin Planca). Since the Middle Ages, one has called Planche a footbridge, a litlle bridge made with planks enabling people and animals to cross a river on foot.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: mostly marly and fairly deep.
Orientation: South
Surface area under vine: 0.3285 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 48 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 51 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 25 August 2020.
The grapes were handpicked. They were sorted a first time in the vineyard and again on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: The grapes were 50% destemmed and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration with 50% of whole grapes lasted a total of 24 days including 5 days of cold maceration (12°C). Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). 2 punchings of the cap. Vinification without sulfur.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 16 months with no racking using a proportion of 29% 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 Fébruary 2022, the wine was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity.
Number of bottles: 2,087.
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: From 5 to 10 years.
Tasting notes
The color is dark ruby. The nose exhales aromas of raspberries, cherries mixed with floral notes. On the palate, this very juicy wine reveals a nice fatness and fine tannins.
