Tasted in Béru, with Gaëlle Ribé & Athénaïs de Beru, 05 April 2022.
Domaine Château de Béru
32 Grande Rue
89700 Beru
Tel: +33 3 86 75 94 95
www.chateaudeberu.com
More reports with Domaine Château de Béru
Gaëlle on 2022/2021:
“We have certainly lost 5-10% this year – more the Saturday night than the Sunday. Clearly with fewer losses than last year (2021) and not even close to in 2016!”
Gaëlle on 2020:
2020 was a classic rendement/yield for us – 35 hl/ha – and we like the wines a lot. There was the dryness of the vintage – we still thought we had a lot but there actually wasn’t much juice. But super juice and with good acidity – all fermenting easily at low temperature – all done ‘natural’ and finished before the new harvest. We did have a short hailstorm not long before the harvest.”
They are now Ecocert qualified for all the négoce wines here.
The wines…
Outstanding – one of my greatest tastings last year – it’s right up there near the top again this year!
350-400m altitude, Kimmerigian, usually windy, the snow always stays here longer, but it’s also warmer in the summer. The only wine with 5% elevage in foudres and the rest in tank. This cuvée normally accounts for about 1/3 of the domaine, and always the same parcels are used.
A deep and vibrant nose. Foudre elevage then on fine lees in tank. Wide, then mouth-filling, great shape and clarity, golden fruit. Almost a creamy finish – great wine!
From the plateau of the hill here, above Chichée, plus a higher hill. Very draining white soil with lots of fossils here, Kimmerigian rock but ‘more angular.’ Have been slowly increasing the amount of oak – for both fermentation and elevage – it was all barrel vinification and elevage this year. Maybe a gram of so2 at bottling – will see – maybe not…
Again nicely vibrant and golden fruited. More mineral and direct, a structural shape but not hard. A faint strictness too – which I love!
‘A little terrior near the mid-slope. Limestone like small galets.’ Sampled from barrel and, like the last, it’s not seen any sulfur yet.
The same golden vibrancy of aroma. More width of melting intensity here. Thats super. Mineral less strict, great finish, really great!
A walled section of vines next to the château – there’s some clay in the soil here. All barrel for this cuvée.
Here the nose has more depth and density, slightly creamy – there will be 2 years of elevage for this one. The synthesis of the previous two wines but with extra! Grand cru level yet again for this!
2019! Chablis Clos Béru
To be commercialised in 2023…
Broad, some attractive development, becoming more vibrant and mineral. Mobile, melting over the palate – great focus for a 2019 if slightly behind the previous 20s. Great finishing, some attractive bitters here too. Clearly excellent wine – even in the context of these 2020s…
2020 Chablis 1er Vaucopins
A very steep slope here. Again Kimmerigian but also with blue clay. They are old vines and it’s also a small parcel
Deep, faintly reductive. Incisive, faintly grained with tannin, mouth-watering. Some silk to this texture. Completely different style. ‘We’re using a vertical press for this and I think it makes some difference.’
Wines de négoce:
Vines from Saint-Bris
Broad faintly rounded, creamy from the elevage again. Direct, mineral you could cut yourself on this incisive wine! Great aligote, chalky finishing!
2020 Bourgogne Chardonnay
From 4 parceks around St.Bris
Vibrant and mineral – another great aromatic. A little green in the middle flavours but such energy and complexity – juicy, super wine and potentially a great Bourgogne…
Sampled from barrel – sauvignon gris
A narrower and deeper nose, the exoticism of SB is directly visible. So fresh and energetic, peachy freshness and always vibrant. Grand finishing – ooh wow!
2020 Pinot Gris
Previously from Joigny, now from Epineuil but still organic grapes – maceration in small tanks – virtually a carbo approach
Rosé colour. Mineral and interesting width of aroma. Structural, depth of flavour. Slightly strict but a super wine.
2020 Bourgogne Epineuil
Already racked and waiting for bottling. After 1 year of elevage
Not too deeply coloured. Ooh, thats a deeply perfumed nose – smoky from the stems. In the mouth too – sitting beautifully, faintly smoky, lingering beautifully over the palate, the flavour always perfumed.
2020 Bourgogne Côte d’Auxerre
All pinot from St.Bris, whole cluster, no pigeage, just maybe one or two when fermentation is done.
More colour. A broad and deep freshness of darker fruit. More structure, direct, chalky impression – lots more texture here. Super Bourgogne again…