Savigny-Lès-Beaune
1er Cru Aux Clous Bio 2020
Often presented as the little brothers of the Cortons, the Aloxe-Cortons enjoy a stronger reputation than the
neighboring village appellations…
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 fairly large plot is located not far from the river named Rhoin.
In the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, 'Aux Clous' meant Clos, which could designate gardens sometimes enclosed by walls. Gardens that have turned into plots of vines.
The grapes selected from this cuvée are certified Veritas.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: light with limestone gravel.
Orientation: South
Surface area under vine: 0.50 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 22 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 71 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 28 August 2020.
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. 5 punchings of the cap.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 18 months with no racking.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time for very delicate oaking.
Bottling
Bottling in February 2022, the wine was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity.
Number of bottles: 1,475.
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 7 to 12 years.
Tasting notes
With its brilliant purple color, this wine exhales intense aromas of peonies, forest fruits, as well as toasted notes. On the palate, this wine, greedy and fruity, reveals a nice freshness on the finish.
