Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru “Les Peuillets” 2021

The grandfather of the current proprietaire, Jean-Michel Jacob, created this domaine based in the village of Echeveronne in the hills above the villages of Pernand Vergelesses and Aloxe Corton. The estate was subsequently, and aggressively, enlarged by Jean-Michel’s father, Lucien, during the 1960s. Lucien was also politically active and served for many years in the National Assembly. The domaine originally specialized in growing cassis and framboise in the Hautes Cotes de Beaune and the prosperity occasioned by this type of farming provided the resources to purchase vineyards in the neighboring villages of Savigny Les Beaune and Pernand Vergelesses. Recently, Jean-Michel Jacob has further expanded the family holdings in the Cote de Beaune to include additional vineyard sites in several 1er Cru vineyards in Beaune. The Jacob domaine now owns nearly 15 hectares of vineyards, 7 of which are planted in the Hautes Cotes de Beaune (in and around the village of Echevronne).

Pinot Noir has very aromatic profile, very fresh acidity and low level of quaite soft tannins. The nature of Pinot Noir wine is its flavors of red berries and cherry (red sour cherries in lighter wines and cooked black cherries in bold examples). This wine matures very exating, developing notes of berry jam, violets, leather, moss and mushrooms.

Savigny-lès-Beaune is a large village in the Côte de Beaune sub-region of Burgundy, nestled between the hillsides of a sub-valley in the Côte d'Or escarpment. The last part of the name reflects the village's location; it is just a short distance away from the town of Beaune. The Appellation Savigny-lès-Beaune may be used for red and white wine with respectively Pinot noir and Chardonnay as the main grape variety. There are 22 vineyards classified as Premier Cru and there are no Grand Cru vineyards within Savigny-lès-Beaune.

Burgundy (Bourgogne) can be confusing because of the multiplicity of its appellations - all the small vineyards are divided between multiple producers so it can often be difficult to understand this diversity. However, it is the exact reason why the wines of Burgundy are considered to be the finest in the world. A common topic of discussion, when talking about Burgundy, is the concept of "terroir" - a unique combination of soil and climate conditions that affects the taste of wine in the appellations, making it unique to each village. Winemakers mainly use the capricious Pinot Noir and the classical Chardonnay to create true masterpieces, while Gamay and Aligote are used to make wines of a bit simpler style. Particular attention should be paid to the hierarchy of wines. First there are the regional and village wines, a step higher - the Premier Cru wines and the outstanding Grand Cru - at the top. Due the complex and inconsistent weather that can notably impact wine quality especially in bad harvest years, a very important factor here is the so called millesime - the harvest year of the grapes the particular wine is produced of, because each of these years has its own unique taste. Purchasing Burgundy wines is not easy because there are many details that should be taken into consideration - the class of the vineyard, the assessment of the manufacturer, the age of the vines, the quality of the wine as well as the millesime and, of course, the potential of ageing. The sellers play a big role here - they must be truly passionate about wine and able to offer only the best quality producers with a good reputation. That is exactly the way "Noble Wine" works!