Score: 92/100
This Savigny-Lès-Beaune by Beaune producer Bouchard Ainé et Fils is made, like the appellation entails, from 100% Chardonnay grapes.
Savigny is an appellation in the Côte de Beaune area of Burgundy, named after a village near Beaune. Vineyards spread over 400 hectares in total (anout 1000 acres) of which one third is classified as Premier Cru. About 10% of Savigny wines are white.
Bouchard Ainé’s vineyard for this wine, is located on slopes between 250 and 400 metres altitude, some quite steep. Soils are varied, from gravelly, sometimes dominant brown-red clayey limestone, or more pebbly on the low slopes. The vineyard undergoes careful work and attention to control yields for example and also strict cultivation methods encouraging an active microbial life to further express this terroir. Vines from which these grapes are harvested originate from a “lieu-dit” called Les Bas Liards. This block is located downslope, where the soil is rich and deep.
This Chardonnay was entirely fermented and aged in oak barrels.
Tasting Notes
This Burgundy white comes in a bright and shiny lemon-yellow color, of medium intensity for the style betraying this is a young Chardonnay, but with vibrant gold hues giving it much appeal.
The nose is more intense than the nose suggests, and notably more vibrant too!
There is a whole lot going on, although all delivered in an exquisite finesse. Marzipan and buttery biscuit scents, perfumed with notes of lemon and hints of fresh pineapple. Some fruity apple and aromas of white peach, are intricately and subtly combined with notes of sour dough and ginger bread spices mix.
An unpalpable sensation of minerality, like one you get from sniffing the sea breeze, inhabits the whole smelling-experience, providing depth and lightness at the same time. Clearly delightful and tempting to smell at!
The palate is round with a textural oily feel, but also light-hearted with no heaviness whatsoever, and a crisp and fresh acidity instead. The latter underlines zesty flavors of lime and fresh green apples, augmented by apricot and peach tones.
This impression of lightness and fruitiness, features before a burst of sweet spices and sour dough brioche flavor kicks in authoritatively, from the mid-palate on, and explodes into a myriad of complex spicy/fruity/elegantly buttery characters.
Very long warming and generous finish delivers layers of sensation that both feel mineral, fresh and zesty from a salty/sour after-taste, and gorgeous spiced citrus peel liqueur flavors.
Overall
Literally quite stunning a Chardonnay wine, for the educated and attentive tasters.
Plenty of finesse and elegance, but also power and complexity it holds, all delivered so subtly and delicately that you do have to pay careful attention and give the wine the time it deserves to be enjoyed.
Do not serve to cold, and pair with equally elegant and subtle dishes, creamy and not-too-overpowering seafood, or refined entrées.
Enjoy ?
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