Jean Yves Devevey – Demigny

30.9.2015billn

DSC07265Tasted in Demigny with Jean Yves Devevey, 22 July 2015.

Domaine Jean Yves Devevey
Rue de Breuil
71150 Demigny
Tel: +33 3 85 49 91 11
www.devevey.com

Demigny is an old ‘village viticole’ and is home to Domaine Devevey. There are hardly any vines here now, but before phylloxera, there was once 700 hectares – some nurseries remain here though. There are certainly some nice big houses in the village, but today, the biggest business seems to be a furniture shop…

Domaine Devevey covers about 8 hectares of vines in the areas of Rully and the Côte de Beaune. Jean Yves began in 1992 with 4 hectares here in Demigny and another 4 hectares in the Hautes Côtes de Nuits, ”But it was hard, they were 32 kilometres apart and it was really too complicated with tractors et-cetera. But in 1994 I got some vines in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune at Nantoux, well-placed on a plateau but with some slope too. In 1999 I acquired my plot of Beaune 1er Pertuisots, so in 2000-2001 I eventually stopped with the Hautes Côtes de Nuits. The first Rully vines came in 2006, followed in 2007 by some rented Volnay villages. Then in 2012 came Rully La Chaume red and white which I could buy outright in 2014. In 2012 I decided to plant Savagnin here in Demigny – it is so difficult to sell ‘vin de pays’ from Demigny at a price that brings a return – so let’s see!

In 2002 Jean Yves created a négoce part to the business, producing Chassagne, Meursault, Beaune and Volnay et-cetera; this to helped to finance the cuverie, because Jean Yves needed to buy everything as his father had previously only sold grapes. The domaine has been managed in bio since 2003 – everything. A normal year’s production sees a little more white than red wine produced, though this may be more like 60-40 when the savagnin comes on stream.

The domaine’s main markets are export; UK is the largest (with Berry Bros.) then Japan. There isn’t much passing trade on Demigny and Jean Yves is mainly in the vines, but visits are possible with a rendezvous.

On 2015s Jean Yves noted that he had a very irregular fruit set this year, some of the pinot très fin have almost nothing to harvest!

The wines…

Just a first-class range of wines from this address, and after des Croix, another brilliant address for Beaune Pertuisots…

Some 2014s…

2014 Hautes Côtes de Beaune Rouge
A very small harvest despite 2 hectares – all due to hail. It’s a good selection of pinot here, sourced from the Clos des Epeneaux – just 12 ear-old vines, but they are doing very well…
A hint reduced, but only a hint. Beautiful deep red fruit below. Bright, fine, slightly padded attack. A really super, engaging wine.

2014 Volnay
From 3 parcels. In 2014 only 4-5 hl/ha, just 2.5 barrels from more than half a hectare…
Also a faint reduction, though with more aromatic weight and texture. More dimension and more structure too – super energy with a hint of dryness. Really engaging if with a more serious side… Super length.

2014 Rully Les Chaumes
Deep red fruit – mistakenly taken after the Volnay – so less pretty. Brighter acidity plus a faint dryness to the tannin. Bright and direct flavour, though certainly less width than the Volnay too. Enjoyable mid-palate and finishing flavour. Yum.

2014 Beaune 1er Pertuisots
A deep and impressive nose with perhaps a flash of reduction, but really a concentrated nose with a beautiful floral note… Big, concentrated, structured too, but it’s only discreetly drying – lovely concentrated flavour. Fine finishing. Really excellent wine.

2013 Volnay
About 40% whole-clusters (2014 was 60%), but no pigeage as this is anyway a concentrated combination of vines.. Only in bottle since May.
Impressive colour. Bright florals, a suggestion of pyrazine on the middle, but then its gone. A wine of concentration and good texture. Really quite some weight of extract and a long, red flavour..

2013 Beaune 1er Pertuisots
Fine wide aromas suggesting a little texture, slowly offering up a jellied dark-red fruit note. Beautiful in the mouth – concentrated but with super texture – there’s just enough sweetness to the concentrated fruit. Here’s a fine extra dimension of flavour in the finish too. Bravo!

Les Blancs…

2014 Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc
From young vines that will likely go into a Bourgogne with a little Rully.
Direct, fresh, faintly savoury. Faint gas but this has a much more interesting flavour than aroma: It’s exactly the aromatic that is the reason it’s going into the Bourgogne – because Jean-Yves thinks that there’s some muscaté plants here.

2014 Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc Champs Perdrix
Almost no sulfur used here; just 1g when placed in barrel plus another after the malo at the beginning of May…
A little reduced. Much more mineral, with a little aniseed – very interesting, tasty wine but the aromatic is very unformed.

2014 Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc Les Chaniots
Just 5 metres from the last vines, but these sit on a slight slope. 18 months elevage for this wine.
Nose a little more open. Brighter, a sweeter core, longer, this is excellent, mouth-watering and delicious. Super yum.

2014 Rully Les Thiveaux
About 40 year-old vines.
Modest reduction and a slightly savoury nose. Faintly reductive flavours too but it tastes good though.

2014 Rully La Chaume
More high tones, faintly herbed but higher toned herbs than, for instance, you find in a Chassagne. Modest gas on the tongue but there’s width and some minerality plus a very fine complexity, here again with a hint of aniseed.

2013 Rully la Chaume
Complex, mineral and very inviting aromas – with a discreet warmth of ripe lemon fruit. Also mineral, faint salt to the leading edge. Tons of character here – really excellent. There’s richness but deliciousness too. Nose gets better and better. Best Rully blanc ever tasted?

2012 Rully La Chaume
Big, an almost pineapple nose to start with, that gets wider and fresher, becoming more and more interesting. Hmm – lovely width, warmer but finely balanced flavour. A warmer weather wine.

2011 Rully La Chaume
Fresh, more crystalline aroma. A little warm in the glass, but this is clearly mineral, complex and has very good, interesting flavour. Seemingly a family resemblance here to the others.

A mystery bottle:
A little more golden colour. Deep, older chardonnay aromas of slightly wet wool – this is very inviting indeed. Beautiful line, intensity and weight, there is silk and simply gorgeous flavour. It is Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc Les Chaniots 1998 – simply gorgeous despite it’s modest appellation, and only coming from 6 year-old vines! apparently this was oaky when young as 30% new oak was used – but that was only because he had very few barrels and was obliged to keep buying, the cuvée today sees less than 10%…

2011 Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc Les Chaniots
Super-perfumed. But fresh, not heavy. More direct, intense, faintly herbed but with a sweet enough core of flavour. More obvious minerality and a lovely growth of flavour in mid-palate too. Joyous!

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