Le Grappin – 2015

1.11.2016billn

dsc01476Tasted with Andrew and Emma Nielsen in Beaune, 18 October, 2016.

Le Grappin
12 Rue Oudot
21200 Beaune
@legrappin
www.legrappin.com

Andrew on 2016:
The frost hit Beaune and Savigny badly; the Savigny red was down about 60%, the white 90%! We have no Beaune Grèves blanc – 60-70% was lost to the frost, the rest to the mildew. It wasn’t so bad in Beaujolais, except for Fleurie where we lost everything. The BJ Villages from Fleurie-Lancie was also lost. For the rest we got a good 12% maturity, achieved with the Indian summer. I’m sure 2016 will be more ‘classic’ than the voluptuous 15s, we did a shorter skin contact as there was some rosé grapes. All wines made with no sulfur ferments – maybe it will be Spring before we use our first sulfur.

Andrew on 2015:
Lush! Higher potentials than we would normally do – mid-12s I like – but we often had more than 13. The stems were super-ripe so we did more whole clusters, no pigeage, and pressed off with some sugar and finished the wines in tank.

On pricing:
Our offer will come out later this month. We are trying to hold price in Euros for most wines, despite the costs increasing. If people commit to the Euro price they can come and collect the wines here.

The wines…
2015 Savigny-lès-Beaune
Here just finishing malo.
A big, round, voluptuous nose, indeed gorgeous. Round, again, impressive dimension and really good texture. Gorgeous. And with a super finish, really top!

2015 Beaune 1er Boucherottes
A finer, less overt nose. Also a finer more classic dimension of flavour here, freshness of decently complex notes. The Savigny I’d drink at the bar, and this is for me drinking alone. Super!

Les blancs…

2015 Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc
pH still 3.1, foot crushed and then pressed for about 4 hours. All whites in big barrels – 2×400 here.
A little weight and width of aroma. The classic hint of phenolic. Wide and long. Nice stuff.

2015 St.Aubin
From En le Beau Pain, the soil a little like Dents du Chien at the top, below is more Chassagne style soil. Big barrels, none new, no battonage, first sulfur in the spring. This the 2nd vintage for this cuvée.
A deeper but also higher toned nose. More volume on the mouth, nice energy, Today the entry is a bit diffuse, but the mid-palate onward is wide and really very tasty – a very nicely finishing wine – yum! Last drops have added florals – lovely.

2015 Santenay 1er Les Gravières Blanc
On white soil, from 40-year-old vines. Had one 1-year-old barrel and another older barrel.
Despite the older barrels, here is a clear extra creaminess to the wine, but it remains nicely fresh too. Lush, fine texture but ingraining, flavour and good freshness – gorgeous stuff – a certain lush character but wow!

2015 Beaune 1er Les Grèves Blanc
‘The first year with a correct yield.’
The nose is open and wide, nice freshness if not currently completely focused. Silky, with direct, citrus minerality. Super long, with mouth-watering flavour. Just a beauty.

2015 Macon villages
Most of this goes into kegs and bagnums, but the favourite barrels stay on lees a little longer before bottling – 7 barrels worth here – low sulfur as meant for earlier drinking. From Peronne near Viré.
Not too fat, indeed a good freshness. A little floral in the mouth, volume but a decent structure too – only in the finish do I find Mâcon-style references – but this is a very good and easy to drink wine. Indeed yum! Excellent, and half the price of the Savigny – ‘Welcome to the Côte de Beaune. We actually moved into Beaujolais because we always wanted to make cheaper interesting wines… It was not just about finding a Mâcon, but finding a cooler limestone soil, for instance…

2015 Fleurie
From the bottom of the village not far from Fleurie-Lancie. 100% whole-cluster, no sulfur in a concrete tank, 12 days with one pump-over per day, then pressed off and finished in 5-7 barrels, bottled in June, 2 weeks after racking.
A wide nose of interesting depth – really inviting. A lush style, really mouth-filling, a little tannic drag – no lack of concentration here – this is super drinkable and easy to appreciate – lovely stuff
2015 Fleurie-Poncié
Right from the top of Poncié – Ponicié-hautes near Moulin-à-Vent. Old vines, bush trained. In tank under CO2, checking the yeast with microscope every day and when it reached 4 million, we pressed – that was 21 days. In 15 the clusters were smaller than those of the pinots…
A fresher, darker nose, faint spice, slowly starting to add some flowers. Wow. Big, but fine textured, plenty of fine, ripe tannin. Gorgeous flavour. Gets wider-still in the mid-palate and finish – bravo – great wine!

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