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
The Wine
Les Grèves is Beaune’s most celebrated Premier Cru — a long, mid-slope climat running south from the town, bordering Bouchard Père et Fils’s famous monopole Vigne de l’Enfant Jésus. Almost all of it is planted to Pinot Noir. Less than 1% is Chardonnay. Five producers in the entire appellation make a white Les Grèves. Le Grappin is one of them — and this is the wine Jon Bonné singled out in The New French Wine as “a particular treat, a wine that only a few large houses are making; it’s intense and full-fleshed, with creamy peach and a welcome cherry-pit astringency.”
The 2023 vintage comes from a single parcel of 50-year-old Chardonnay vines facing south on the perfect mid-slope incline of the climat — ideal sun exposure, natural drainage, and the clay-limestone soils that give Les Grèves its distinctive combination of richness and mineral tension.
Winemaker’s Note
”From a rare parcel of Chardonnay mid-slope in Beaune’s most famous climat, adjacent to Bouchard Père et Fils’s monopole Les Vignes de l’Enfant Jésus. 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.
— Andrew Nielsen, Le Grappin
In the Press
”Mid lemon yellow, with a stylish and precise nose, prettily perfumed, this has been expertly managed. Very skilful.
— Jasper Morris MW92–94 points · 4 stars
”It's a feisty white with zippy wiffs of white pepper tangling with the Marcona almonds, corn husks and grissini — a very savory wine. Light tannins and generous acidity sculpt the medium body before the finish gently dissolves.
— Christy Canterbury MW93 points
”Rich fruit with balanced crisp acidity. Quite closed up and will benefit from the long élevage.
— Matthew Hayes, jancisrobinson.com17+/20
Vineyard & Vintage Details
Producer: Le Grappin
Appellation: Beaune Premier Cru AOC
Climat: Les Grèves
Grape: 100% Chardonnay
Vine age: 50 years
Aspect: South-facing, mid-slope
Soils: Clay-limestone
Farming: Organically farmed
Harvest: Hand-picked · slowly pressed over several hours
Vinification: Chilled and oxidised in tank 24 hours · racked to two 500L barrels and two 220L Wine Globes · indigenous yeasts · no SO2, enzymes, or nutrients
Élevage: 18–24 months on full lees · no stirring · no spring racking
Fining / Filtration: Unfined · lightly filtered
Closure: DIAM 10
Bottling: Spring/Summer 2026
Tasting Notes
Intense and full-fleshed on the nose — creamy peach, white flowers, a hint of toasted almond from the barrel aging. On the palate, the richness of the south-facing mid-slope site is balanced by a mineral tension and a clean cherry-pit astringency on the finish that is entirely distinctive to this climat. Long and precise. Drink now through 2031.
Service: 12–14°C. Lobster, turbot, grilled scallops, roast chicken with cream sauce, aged Comté.
2023 Vintage Note
2023 produced fresh, aromatic Chardonnay across the Côte de Beaune with good natural acidity and clean, precise fruit. For a mid-slope Premier Cru site like Les Grèves — where the south aspect already generates generous ripeness — the vintage’s natural freshness provides exactly the balance the site needs. The 2023 is vibrant and accessible now but has the structure to develop for six to eight years.
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.
