Description
Red cherry, fine-grained tannins, a mineral edge that reflects the rocky soils at the base of the slope. The three-appellation junction gives this wine a complexity unusual for a village level — fruits from Pernand, structure from Aloxe-Corton, the freshness of Savigny throughout.
2022 produced Pinot Noir of exceptional fruit clarity and smooth tannin structure across the Côte de Beaune. For a 60-year-old parcel with the natural site advantages of Aux Fournaux, the vintage added concentration without sacrificing the freshness that makes this climat distinctive.
Notes from Le Grappin winemaker Andrew Nielsen:
Vineyard
From a 60 year old parcel of Pinot Noir, in my favourite villages climat for Pinot Noir in Savigny-lès-Beaune, “Aux Fournaux”. With the vineyard being located at the base of the slope, which provides better sunlight interception and drainage than most villages parcels in Savigny-lès-Beaune, the wine has fine definition and weight for a villages appellation wine. “Aux Fournaux” is also at the junction with Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton, with racy fruits from the former and rocky tannins from the later. A very complex villages site!
Vinification
Hand picked and sorted for over 8 hours to ensure only the best fruit made it to the fermenter. 80% of the grapes were destemmed with the remaining 20% placed on top as whole cluster in a wooden vat. Dry ice was used to cool the fruit to 12ºC and to protect the berries against oxidation. Natural fermentation with just one pump over and one pigèage for temperature control. The must was then basket pressed on the 14th day after harvesting. Settled for two weeks in tank before 11 months in a new barrel from Tonnellerie Minier (14% new oak) and in a variety of one to five year-old barrels from Tonnellerie Chassin. Racked under air pressure and settled for two weeks in tank before being bottled under a DIAM closure without fining or filtration.
“My vision for Le Grappin is to seek out special sites in the over-looked, under-appreciated reaches of Burgundy, that tell a story. I search out viticulteurs as maniacal as me, who tend their vines throughout the year, who know their sites and how best to make the site shine. My job is to ensure the wine reaches it’s true potential, working by hand, with small lots, giving each wine as much care and attention as my viticulteurs have paid to the vines. I believe one finds a sense of detail, purity, and focus in my wines as a result. I hope you enjoy the stories my wines have to tell.” – Andrew Nielsen, Le Grappin
Andrew and Emma Nielsen founded Le Grappin in 2011. They source from the same organically farmed single parcels every year, work without additions, and bottle everything by hand. Named one of The 10 Best Unsung Burgundy Producers by Wine-Searcher.
