This is a period to turn every stone in Burgundy and see as much as one possibly can. Since 2015, there haven’t been any ‘dog vintages’, with every vintage having its share of generally plush, tender, engaging wines. We have found a number of reds that are gushing with ripe, supple, lusty red fruit that have repeatedly proven to be imminently likeable. Also, thanks to the vintages success, likely with an ‘assist’ from global warming, the juicy demeanor has ‘trickled down’ to every quality level, including typically modest ‘village’ bottlings.
To that end, we are pleased to present this Chorey Les Beaune Le Grand Saucy 2019 from Robert Gibourg, another shining example of a well-priced, remarkably engaging nature red Burgundy from the latter half of this decade. Robert Gibourg, born in 1942, inherited about 1 hectare of very old vines from his parents in the Cote de Nuits and from his grandfather in the Cote de Beaune.
In 1975, Robert Gibourg married Marie Therese, whose family was a winemaking family in Ladoix and, a year later, Marie Therese’s uncle retired and Robert Gibourg has been farming his parcels under metayage ever since, including parcels in Ladoix, Aloxe Corton including a small amount of Grand Cru Corton. Robert continued to expand the domaine to its current size of about six hectare (approximately 14.5 acres) including this parcel of Chorey Les Beaune Les Grande Saucy purchased in 1999.
These days the estate is run son-in-law Sebastien Bidault. Yields are kept low, and all grapes are hand-harvested. No chemical fertilizers are used and the soil is turned to promote diversity and health. All wines are vinified at the domaine in Morey-Saint-Denis. Grapes are de-stemmed in most years. The must is cold-soaked for 3-5 days to extract color and aroma from the skins. Fermentation is 100% natural, and the wine sees 16-18 months in barrels (30% new) and then is bottled unfiltered and unfined.
The 2019 Chorey Les Beaune Le Grande Saucy comes from a single vineyard (lieux dit) that, as the crow flies, is closer to the village of Aloxe Corton than the village of Chorey. The nose shows plenty of inviting dark cherry fruit with subtle but intriguing notes of violet and spice. Packed with red fruits with a supporting snip of acidity, this is a riper version of classic Burgundy with plenty of fruit to the midpalate but a little more old school chew to the edge. Another great go-to from a generous vintage, these are definitely good times for Burgundy drinkers because you can find delightful wines that won’t break the bank. We also have a little bit left of the delightful, plush, energetic 2018 Chorey Les Beaune Le Grande Saucy . Both sell for the modest fare of $34.98.