2020 Beaune Champs Pimonts 1er Cru

This well-known domaine, based in Meursault, has improved greatly since it was bought by Edouard Labruyère in 2008. Head winemaker Nadine Gublin was away during my visit, although it was nice to say bonjour to Martin Prieur, grandson of the titular Prieur, who is still involved in sales and is currently keeping watch on a large-scale building project that will see a new winery appear in the next few months. “Budding was on March 25,” he told me. “The flowering had nearly finished by the end of May, and then afterward it was warm but not too hot. In July and August, we saw temperatures approaching 40°C. There was some hydric stress, but the fruit gained concentration. There were good levels of tartaric, but the malic was burned away by the warmth of the summer. The harvest began on August 20 for the reds, commencing in Corton-Bressandes, and on August 24 for the whites. We cooled the fruit on arrival, which was particularly important for the red grape varieties. It was classic fermentation, with a light pigeage for the first or five days before the alcoholic fermentation began. For ten days we did around two pigeages per day and we kept the temperature no higher than 30–34°C. There is some whole-bunch addition for the domaine reds [see tasting notes for details] but nearly all the négoce reds [under the Labruyère-Prieur Sélection label] are de-stemmed. There is no chaptalization or acidification. The alcohol is around 14°, up to 14.5°. We raised the Grand Crus in around 60% new oak and slightly more for the Echézeaux and Musigny.” The reds come from some of Burgundy’s finest vineyards, yet there were some that displayed a little overripeness despite the early picking, veering toward black rather than red fruit, and intermittently a tad confit-like. But there are some very successful wines, not least a wonderful Volnay Clos des Santenots that manages to fully control its precocious nature.