Description

“Their Beaune Greves Blanc is a particular treat, a wine that only a few large houses (like Jadot and Latour) are making; it’s intense and full-fleshed, with creamy peach and a welcome cherry-pit astringency.”
Jon Bonné in The New French Wine
Notes from winemaker Andrew Nielsen
Vineyard
From a rare parcel of Chardonnay mid-slope in Beaune’s most famous climat, and adjacent to Bouchard Père et Fils’s monopole “Les Vignes d’Enfant Jesus”, these 50-year-old vines face south on a perfect incline for sunlight interception and drainage. Less than 1% of “Les Grèves” is planted to Chardonnay, and there are only five producers left who make a white “Les Grèves”. It is an honour to be one of them!
Vinification
Hand-picked, and slowly pressed over several hours. The juice was chilled and oxidised in tank for 24 hours and then racked to three 300L barrels for fermentation by indigenous yeasts without SO2, enzymes nor nutrients. Aged on full lies, without stirring or Spring racking, for fourteen months before another three months in tank. Unfined, lightly filtered and bottled under DIAM 10.
“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 Nielsen of Le Grappin named one of “The 10 Best Unsung Burgundy Producers” by Bill Nanson on Wine-Searcher.com.
About Le Grappin
Le Grappin make authentic wines from under-appreciated parcels in Burgundy and Beaujolais. They source fruit from the same single parcels of organically farmed vines each year. From their winery, in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, they combine modern winemaking with traditional methods, eschewing additives and interventions.
The Nielsen’s started Le Grappin in 2011 following Andrew’s five-year journey working for some of the world’s great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay artisans in California, Central Otago, Burgundy, and the Yarra Valley and studying wine science. Emma joined in 2015 bringing her experience of marketing, events, and project management.
Their fruit is from vineyards farmed organically, working with the same growers each year, with some partnerships now lasting for more than 10 years. Fermentation is done with no additions, using strict sorting and hygiene to combat wine defaults, and serious vineyard work to avoid the need for sugar, acid or nutrient additions.
Whites are whole bunch pressed in hydraulic basket presses and fermented in a range of formats depending on the fruit – old oak barrels, concrete egg, wooden foudres and glass. Reds are fermented whole cluster in wood or concrete large tanks with ageing taking place in large-format old oak barrels, for up to two years depending on the vintage and the wine’s development.
Their Le Grappin labels showcase fine wines from the Côte de Beaune and Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, and Du Grappin, the more relaxed and restaurant-focused wines from Beaujolais, Mâconnais and Vézelay.