Tasted in Savigny with François de Nicolay, 10th November 2015.
Domaine Chandon de Briailles
1 Rue Soeur Goby
21420 Savigny-lès-Beaune
Tel: +33 3 80 21 52 31
www.chandondebriailles.com
François on the 2015 vintage:
“2015 looks like a super vintage, but we could have done with more volume though!”
François on the 2014 vintage:
“We harvested 18-26 September, the Savigny towards the end, rather late. I find it a vintage of volume and openness.”
The wines…
Three wines are already in bottle, one red, two white. Maybe everything will be bottled before Christmas. We tasted from what looked like big Bordeaux Riedels – I thought them a bit musty to start – but the wine washed them – boy did it wash them – lovely wines if with an often similar aromatic which is probably down to their stage in the elevage, but I find lots to love here!
From one parcel in Au Fourneaux at the bottom of the slope – it has deep soil and is sited near Aloxe.
A deep, silky impression to the nose – wide dark red fruit of some concentration. Fresh, but complex, lots of energy here, also a little raspberry on the end of the tongue. A very attractive wine indeed.
2014 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Fourneaux
There’s a small path through the vines, and on the higher side here is the 1er cru – the soil is a little more red with more limestone.
A very similar nose, dark, composed fruit. An extra depth of fruit here, but no extra padding and good complexity – here is a darker base to the wine, more mineral in the fresh finish. Longer finishing. The villages is slightly the more exciting today, but here is certainly more finishing material-yum!
This wine already bottled. From the mid-slope, south, south-west exposed on ‘dalles de calcaires’ – Lavières.
A hint lighter in colour. A roundness and silkiness to the nose, here with a hint more floral. More structured and with more obvious tannin, but not grainy tannin. Lithe and muscular in the middle and a very fine mouth-watering dark fruit finish. This will be really super…
2014 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Les Vergelesses
From just below the road at bottom of the hill, clay here and iron-red soil.
The family aromatic at the moment, smooth and silkily dark red fruit, this one with just a faint high-toned spice. Wide, complex, involving flavour – there’s good freshness and a lovely depth of tannin-coated flavour. A modestly dry texture on the gums as this wine fades. Easier than Lavières today. A lovely wine….
2014 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Ile des Vergelesses
Mid-slope, east, south-east, argillo calcaire, drains well.
A similar nose to the others, but here there is more aromatic height, below with an element of dark minerality too, but with no obvious reduction. Here is a weight of flavour and roundness of form. The flavour is modestly complex and modestly energetic, more singular in expression than the Les Vergelesses today, but the clear differentiation is a much more silky finish. Really a lot of finesse here… long finishing too!
Just inder Corton-Bressandes. There’s a lot of rock here, so it’s complicated to work, but we use a horse to do the ploughing.
Again the family nose which at this state of elevages is just suggesting a faintly lactic note – but it grows a fine freshness too. Lovely in the mouth, there’s a little dryness of tannin at the edges, but here is fresh, almost cool fruit of complexity and energy. Really beautifully mouth-watering in the finish too, simply lovely…
2014 Corton Les Marèchaudes
Also under Corton-Bressandes but more to the north with big ‘tête de mouton’ limestone.
A deep, discreetly reduced nose. More sucrosity, but still very fine energy. The reduction is visible in the flavours too. Structured but with really fine, mouth-watering, almost melting flavours over the palate – some dryness in the finish, but that will quickly fade. Yum!
The middle of the hill, from 4 parcels.
A deeply aromatic a mix of sous bois and reduction. Like the others, good freshness and energy a but here is clearly more intensity of flavour. Only very late does the dry edge of the tannin surface – but as more of an anecdote- hauntingly long – bravo!
2014 Corton Clos du Roi
This parcel at the top of the vines.
A spicy nose, less obviously Côte de Beaune. Wide, supple, lots of flavour and indeed weight of flavour. Really the most concentrated and intense – mineral at the core but with sufficient sucrosity that you are not avoiding the full impact. Really long. Here is a wine that will require much more time. Enjoy your Bressandes and Marechaudes while waiting!
Les blancs
Both in bottle.
Planted in 85 and there was family scepticism, but as they vines age, the generosity and complexity have repaid their efforts.
Big, open, ripe citrus but with a weight of a mineral impression below. Lithe, complex, and with a growing intensity of flavour. Really opens out after the mid-palate with fine fresh flavour. Hard to follow the Clos du Roi, but this passes that test. Yum!
2014 Corton Blanc
Planted in Bressandes
A wide nose but also one with a fine, direct and quite fresh depth of ripe citrus fruit. Quite large-scaled in the mouth, again with plenty of ripe citrus, but also width, freshness and a certain minerality. Here is Charlemagne with a friendlier, discreetly padded personality, but no loss of focus or intensity of flavour. Lovely wine…