Tasted with Meline Loye in Beaune, 20 June 2023.
Domaine Besancenot EARL
78 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Nicolas
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33 3 80 22 18 76
www.domaine-besancenot.fr
A domaine that I have noticed for years – sitting on the route-nationale heading north out of Beaune – it was time to learn more!
Domaine Besanconot work 10 hectares of vines, 80% of which are in Beaune. The domaine is currently run by the sixth generation. of the founding family, since 1850. Only 5% of their production is exported, 2/3rds being sold directly from the domaine to visitors – just like me today! Their Beaunes cover Bressandes, Ecu, Grèves, Teurons, Toussaints, Mariages and the higher part of Clos du Roi – their ‘jewel’ is a 3 hectare parcel in Cent Vignes where they are currently the only domaine to make a white from this 1er cru.
The domaine also has some Hautes Côtes de Beaune in Savigny, red and white Chorey-lès-Beaune plus some aligote and bourgogne vines in Pommard.
The aim for 40 hl/ha in their 1er crus – ‘all being well.‘ 95% of their production is machine harvested – “It’s really hard to get the pickers to be honest. But we’ve been HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale) since 2018, ploughing the soils but we are not classified as ‘organic’ as it costs quite a lot for certification. We normally make about 65,000 bottles but it was only 18,000 in 2021 with more than 80% of the whites lost… ”
The wines…
An interesting, competent range – the Tastevinage labels are good – they have to be earned! Proportionately though, the young regionals were the best wines on this day – they were excellent!
I’d taken advantage of a small paid tour that the domaine offered in the summer – so had the opportunity to taste the wines in their Cent Vignes vines where they have a small building/cabotte/tasting room:
2022 Bourgogne Aligoté
Just 2 months in bottle after an elevage of 8 months in tank.
Hmm – that’s an attractive nose. Nothing hard or metallic in the mouth – these young vines on Corgoloin have produced something very inviting. Some sweetness plenty of juicy energy. Yum!
2022 Bourgogne Chardonnay
Same elevage and time in bottle as the aligoté – from the bottom of Pommard.
More breadth of aroma, perhaps a little minerality. Rounder but still with a tasty, steely force – that’s another wine which is far too easy to drink. Super finishing – two delicious wines to start.
2022 Bourgogne Rosé
Just 4 hours of skin contact produce this colour.
A quieter more compact nose. Pretty, plenty of shape and structure. Quite good.
2020 Beaune 1er Cent Vignes (Tastevinage label)
2 years in barrel but only 5% new barrels, all destemmed.
That’s a large scale nose. There’s some pine-sap pyrazine here but not too disagreeable and balanced by some floral notes. I like the shape in in the mouth and the growing intensity – this is a super wine, despite the faintly green nose. Yum.
2019 Beaune 1er Toussaints (Tastevinage label)
The same 2 years of elevage.
A silkier nose that’s more generous too – showing redder, warmer fruit. More structural, certainly more clarity to these flavours – the tannin is showing, perhaps more than a suggestion of barrel in the middle and finishing flavours – I’d keep this a couple of years before opening – you will be rewarded.
2018 Beaune 1er à l’Ecu
Just 3 barrels here.
Hmm, a faint spice and licorice here – red fruit. I Ike the incisivesness and width – the structure surfacing in the middle flavours where the tannin is showing. The finishing flavour is lovely.
2017 Beaune 1er Bressandes
A little roast style to this red fruit – there’s quite a core of red fruit to this aroma. In the mouth a little more medicinal but it’s fresh and energetic – drinkable but perhaps my least favourite of these… but we have a good finish .