Tasted in Beaune with Jerôme Despres & Lauriane André, 11 March 2022.
Domaine Francoise André
7, Rempart Saint-Jean
21200 Beaune, France
Tel:+33 3 80 24 21 65
www.domaineterregelesses-francoiseandre.com
More reports with Domaine Françoise André.
Lauriane & Jerôme on 2020:
“It really depends on the sector – and colour. The white volume was quite good. In the reds we had the usual low volume in, for instance, Beaune Reversées – which is always low. The reds averaging 30 hl/ha. Overall for the domaine, we are almost 30% lower in volume vs ‘normal.’ For the market, we have privileged our existing customers and given them what they wanted before offering the wines to a wider audience. The last bottling was done just 2 weeks ago and it’s all now done. Maximum alcohol was about 14.5 – not all are at this level of course – but it’s a vintage with higher alcohols in the reds – more ‘standard’ in the whites…”
The wines…
It’s become a relatively large range here but I would also say that this is comfortably the best selection of wines that I’ve tasted, to-date, from this domaine. Occasional whites still show a bit too much oak for my taste, but that’s just my taste…
The domaine uses the ‘plastic’ Ardea seal for all their wines – red and white. Versus the first few years that it was on the market, it seems easier to extract these days…
2020 Bourgogne Côte d’Or
Second vintage for this label – vines in Chorey. Next to villages Chorey vines. Half tank, half barrel elevage.
Round, attractive, subtly oaked – a fine invitation. A little saline but broad, attractive fruit – really a high-class wine for the label – clearly better than the average Chorey too! Wide, plenty of peps. I like the finishing energy too – delicious – and practically a great Bourgogne.
2020 Chorey-lès-Beaune Les Tue-Boeuf
Same parcel as their white but older vines. This all barrel elevage with 25% new.
Extra colour – deeper, darker fruit too – a nicely vibrant nose. Mouth-filling, here with extra freshness and intensity. Open, mouth-watering, and still vibrant in the impressive and quite complex finish. Simply excellent.
2020 Beaune les Bons Feuvres
From lower slope vines close to the border with Pommard (And Beaune Epenottes). The ripest wine of their harvest with 14.5°
Wide, airy, a little floral too. You sense the barrel but there is also fruit in the energy of this wine. Narrowing but holding a super and direct line of finishing flavour, slightly mineral. A really great finish for a villages…
2020 Beaune Montée Rouge
Narrower but more floral with higher tones – this is very attractive. Much fresher and much more direct – tons of energy here as befits these higher-lying vines. Vibrant width with extra visible structure. Keep this for 1-2 years before attacking – but it’s excellent!
A single vineyard of 1 hectare and 40-year-old vines.
Like all of these wines – really a lot of colour. Vibrant darker fruit and an attractive extra barrel note. Also a wine of structural shape and a bit more volume. The middle and finishing flavours are just beautiful – I love that – great villages wine!
2020 Pommard Vaumuriens
Vines once of Coche-Dury.
Lighter colour – of course, we are at altitude here. Fine perfume – airy and floral but still underpinned by the fresh red fruit. Mouth-filling, energetic, a modest cushion to the concentrated flavours but no overt oak. Faint finishing bitters – probably from the barrels. Really excellent wine.
Two new Savignys this vintage, so not yet organic – the other wines (apart from white Les Pins because a new parcel is included) are AB:
Just started their first year of organic conversion in this vintage. 1.20 ha
There’s width of aroma but here is more about the higher and lower tones – forward and inviting. Ooh – that’s really super in the mouth – framed with a little tannin but with sweeping, fresh silky texture. Extra vibrant finishing. A great Savigny!
Only 0.16 ha – just a (larger) barrel for elevage – used for white before.
Narrower but full of high tones – still very attractive. Extra direct, extra silky – I really love the extra energy here – this is great. Vibrant, dynamic wine – Love!
Sited next to the domaine’s white Vergelesses.
Ooh – now that’s an inviting nose – narrow top notes of freshness but lower down is a width of very attractive fruit aroma. Fuller, more mouth-filling, a little more Jarrons in style than Narbantons – but a wine with more volume than either. Extra-creamy depth to these finishing flavours – for my style preference I prefer the Narbantons – but this is its equal, just more generous.
16 hl/ha – but the most beautiful grapes.
Lots of colour. Wow – that’s like the smell of fruit-cake that you cannot refuse – beautiful! Concentrated but beautifully fresh – even a little mineral energy – the texture is framed with a fine tannin but no dryness. Rich, luxurious but never heavy. That’s a great Beaune – drink young or keep as long as you like!
2020 Corton-Renardes
First vintage was in 2014. Just one barrel.
Here’s the most compact of noses – a slightly cooked fruit to start – it needs lots of air – but slowly it starts to relax, open and freshen. This has a surprisingly fresh and wide attack – there’s super energy here. A slight richness to this wine with a texture of silk – super texture. More contemplative finishing, quite modest volume but not for length. Carafe today but this is an excellent wine…
Les Whites:
Elevage is always in 350-litre barrels:
2020 Bourgogne Côte d’Or Chardonnay
Next to the domaine’s vines in Chorey – planted by the domain in 2015 – the land en friche before. All barrel elevage. For bottling in the new year. Already AB as it’s newly planted vines – so the conversion was from when there were no grapes…
Open, fresh, ripe – a little rustic but still attractive. This has good energy and a slightly saline accent to the fruit. There’s energy and a very tasty wine here. Good!
2020 Chorey-lès-Beaune Tue-Boeuf Blanc
40 year-old vines – planted by Sylvain Pitiot when he was at the domaine – one of the pioneers of Chorey Blanc here.
A nose of width that’s strongly accented by the creamy barrel. Incisive, fine texture – next level to the previous wine. The oak is very strong but structurally this is excellent. Not my style today because of the oak but the texture and energy is super – your mileage will vary…
2020 Pernand-Vergelesses Les Pins
From Les Pins on the hillside near Sous Frétille, plenty of stones in the clay here.
Slightly reductive and again a little oak – but the oak less overt. Super in the mouth – with energy and a nicely structural shape – always mouth-watering and a good base of minerality too. There’s still plenty of oak in this finish – but much less than is visible in the Chorey.
2020 Beaune 1er Belissand
Third vintage – originally ‘all’ planted to red – but about 60% of the vines were missing when purchased, so decided to replant in white.
A good freshness – an almost stony fruit here. Mouth-filling, structural, stony fruit again – a little tannin in the mix here too. Good finishing depth of flavour. This is very good – and long too!
2020 Savignyy-lès-Beaune 1er Les Hautes-Jarrons
Like the two new reds the first vintage here. Roughly 70-year-old vines.
Open, energetic, attractive – almost a little lime-citrus in this mix. Mouth-filling then slowly melting with saline-accented citrus fruit. Concentrated at the end so holding a strong finish – considered and with some richness – but not heavy. Wide and very long. This could be excellent.
2020 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Verglesses
Near the vines of the Hospices de Beaune – 70-year-old vines – east-facing with very little soil, ‘a good vintage might bring 30 hl/ha, but that’s been a while.’
A narrower but more silky nose. Wider and more mineral in style – a little more intensity too though less silken than the Hautes Jarrons. Wider and more mouth-watering finishing – perhaps longer too – this is excellent.
2020 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Sous Fretille
From old vines.
Ooh – that’s good – vibrant with a suggestion of reduction – more than a suggestion of Charlemagne too! Mouth-filling and extra saline. Wide, very mineral – almost a little strict. Finishing wide and structural – a wine for keeping – and very long it is too. Excellent!
2020 Corton-Charlemagne
From the Pernand side – 0.35 hectares of 30 year-old vines.
Broader, slightly reductive fireworks, ripe but fresh citrus. Wow – here is energy! There’s depth of flavour too and relatively modest barrel notes. Super texture. That’s a really super Charlemagne – wait 3 years.