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Domaine Simon Bize

As usual, proprietor Chisa Bize welcomed me. Positive changes are afoot at one of the best-known Savigny producers. Since the untimely passing of her husband Patrick ten years ago, succession must have played on Bize’s mind as she suddenly had to run the estate. At the same time, their son was still a young teenager, notwithstanding that he might choose an alternative life to one as a vigneron. The good news is that her son was in Sonoma on the foothills of a potential vinous career, whilst Eric Pignal, who arrived in September 2021, is now full-time; 2022, the first vintage he had complete responsibility for, from vine to bottle. Normandy-born Pignal certainly has an impressive CV, having worked at Rippon in New Zealand, Ted Lemon in California and up the road at Domaine Dujac. I could sense Bize’s relief that the future is more settled, and I feel that stability seeped into their 2022s, which might be the best I have ever tasted here.

“It was easier in the vineyard than in 2021,” Pignal tells me. “During the vinification, it was not so easy because the acidity was a bit low. However, it doesn’t taste like a warm vintage. If you want to work with low sulfur levels, these conditions can be tricky. We can’t control vat temperatures, apart from picking in the morning when it’s cooler, and working with whole clusters helps us. You can also do less in terms of operation in the vats. We started on August 23 with the Vergelesses whites in the usual order of picking, the harvest taking place over two and a half weeks. The wines have just been racked a few days earlier and will be in stainless steel for six months, bottling March to May next year when it’s still cool in the winery. The wines need this time, and we’ll use the suspended lees instead of sulfur to protect the wine. The pH level is becoming more and more critical in Burgundy. It is around 3.80 or 3.90 for some cuvées, which we have never seen before, but we don’t feel it, which surprises us. Volatile levels are also quite high, so we have to pay attention to this. But I learned from my experience in the previous growing season.”

To reiterate, these are some of the finest wines I have tasted from Domaine Simon Bize and in a completely different league to the somewhat inconsistent 2021s when the horrendous season poleaxed some cuvées. It’s as if order has been restored, and these wines are determined to make up for the previous year. If you find a better Savigny Les Vergelesses than their 2022, do let me know. The Maconnets are wonderfully structured and balanced, Aux Fournaux is all finesse, and Les Grands Liards is a Premier Cru in all but name. Stylistically, there are paradigms of contemporary low-intervention and classical Pinot Noir, and the genius is that although they are all 100% whole bunches, the stem addition never impinges upon the wine and remains more a guiding hand behind the fruit. Unfortunately, I could not taste the Corton-Charlemagne and Latricières-Chambertin since they had just been racked; otherwise, these wines come highly recommended.

From Now, For My Latest Trick: Burgundy 2022 (Jan 2024) by Neal Martin

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2022 Bourgogne Perrières

Color: Red

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