Tasted in Savigny (sort-of) with Blair Pethel, the 09 October 2018.
Domaine Dublère
2 Chemin des Planchots
21420, Savigny-lès-Beaune
Tel: +33 6 86 92 00 29
www.domaine-dublere.com
Blair Pethel on 2018:
“2018? I’ve no more cellar space! 2017 was also a big vintage, certainly after losing 65% of my 2016s so there’s two big vintages and perhaps 2018 is my biggest white wine harvest ever(?) Together with 2017 I have started harvesting in August 7 times now since 2000! The last of the 2018s are just finishing their sugars before going into barrel.”
Blair Pethel on 2017:
“Hurrah for 2017! We really needed that. It was a vintage where we treated just a little longer than I would have liked – 2 more sprays – because of the late mildew pressure that came from nowhere. But we have a terrific yield, almost full tanks – except for our Chablis! For the 2017s I actually had 4 levels of barrels in one part of the cellar, ‘only’ 3 in the first part of the cellar. I’m planning to bottle in the Spring.”
The wines…
A super set of wines chez Blair Pethel – as every year – almost everything in the excellent category, two or three showing the greatest extra-class for the label.
2017 Bourgogne Les Grands Terres
From the bottom of Volnay
A lovely round nose of cushioned red fruit – very attractive. Juicy, red-fruited again, a little bitters in the finish, delicious stuff.
2017 Chorey-lès-Beaune Maladerottes
More colour. More depth of slightly darker red fruit. More structural on the palate, but still juicy, with more depth of flavour. Good length. Super wine.
A hint less colour. Hmm, a super fruit to this nose, very red, zero herb. More depth of flavour again, beautifully sweet flavour too, really excellent Savigny.
2017 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Talmettes
Relatively light colour. Wide, faint herb and transparent red fruit. Some gas, depth of saline notes, lingering, interesting flavour. I like…
2017 Beaune 1er Blanchefleurs
Nice volume of round aroma, faintly reductive. Good volume, energy and complexity – the volume and intensity of fruit flavour growing and becoming ever-more attractive, long, long. Always a delicious cuvée chez Mr Pethel…
2017 Volnay 1er Pitures
A hint of reduction, faintly saline. The last drops are beautifully aromatic. Fuller, finer textured, long, modest intensity, yet deeper flavour. Yum…
2017 Volnay 1er Taillepieds
Ooh, really floral. Bigger in the mouth, full, faintly tannic, layered but without overt richness, superb length. Excellent…
2017 Morey St.Denis Les Blanchards
‘Always the lightest colour of the range.’
Ooh, a great nose – Volnay-plus! A hint of more texture, juicy but with decent structure, more salinity in the finish. Another excellent wine.
A really difficult parcel to work, it’s easy to compact the soil as there are springs below.
A tighter nose, slowly opening, equally aromatic as the Morey if you wait. Fuller, more structure but with beautiful, melting flavour. This could be great!
Les Blancs:
Ooh, it seems to me that there’s directly a width and weight of Meursault aroma. Some gas, narrow, a little mineral, melting, almost juicy finishing. Excellent, potentially great bourgogne.
2017 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Vergelesses
A narrower, but quite vibrant nose – bubbling with faint yellow fruit. A little extra fat, fine clarity, some intensity and fine finishing complexity.
2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Chenevottes
Oldest vines – planted 1933
A big nose, weighted, complex, and even more inviting with air. Lots of mouth-filling volume – concentrated but with an airy architectural openness. Relaxed, long, beautiful flavour. Excellent!
2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Vergers
Mid-parcel only 5 metres from the last wine, but younger vines.
A little wider, fresher and more open. More mineral, fresh and dynamic – ooh! I so love this energy!
2017 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Chaumées
The first picked at 13.5°
A little more compact nose, slowly adding some mineral notes. More width, minerality, and mid and finishing complexity – like the last with a little more richness to counter the energy, finishing with a quite forward minerality. Another vineyard another style – excellent again.
2017 Corton-Charlemagne
I love this nose, the top notes are beautifully floral. Wide, mobile, steely but faintly rich, melting over the palate, not the most overt energy, but quite enough. Excellent once more…