2022 Bouchard Pere & Fils Savigny les Beaune

The acquisition of this stalwart Burgundy merchant hit the headlines last year when it came under the umbrella of Artémis Domaines, joining fellow Burgundians Domaine d’Eugénie and Clos de Tart, as well as wineries elsewhere, such as Château Latour and Château Grillet. This inevitably led to a reorganization, the négociant activities almost immediately ceasing except for a handful of long-term contracts they will respect, including Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze. Winemaker Frédéric Weber informed me that the vineyards in the Côte de Nuits will transfer over to Domaine d’Eugénie, therefore making winemaker Michel Mallard a busier man. “It’s completely logical,” Weber explains. “It takes two hours to get to Chambertin by tractor. So, it is much better to vinify those wines much closer.” There are also rumors about Artémis selling some of the less propitious vineyards. Still, nothing is confirmed yet (though one winemaker told me he would love to farm them, representing some redistribution of land ownership between an international conglomerate and smaller winemakers priced out of expanding their acreage.) 

We then broached the vintage in question. “It was a warm and sunny year, warmer than 2020 and 2003, but the main factor was two spells of rain that arrived at the right moment. Winter had been drier than usual, but there was no frost damage. Spring came sooner and the vine growth was very quick. It was difficult during May and June, flowering early between May 20 and 25 in good conditions. There was no coulure. June started very warm. There was a big storm at the end of the month that saw 100-200mm of rain with some damage in Gevrey in terms of soil erosion. That was enough to avoid hydric stress, which we had in 2020. July was very hot and sunny with twice the sunshine hours. We did no de-leafing and sprayed white clay on the leaves to protect them. We did a green harvest, mainly on Pinot Noir, to create space between bunches. On August 19, a second storm of around 30mm of rain allowed the bunches to reach full maturity with good balance and increased tartaric acid. Harvest began in Volnay on August 26 and finished on September 10, stopping at 2 pm and using a cooling unit to keep the fruit at the right temperature. In three days, the alcohol levels in Volnay increased by 1.5%, so that was all picked on that first day. The Pinot Noir came in at 40hL/ ha, and for Chardonnay, it was 42hL/ha. I started the Chardonnay picking on August 29. Alcohol is around 13.5% with no acidification or chaptalization. The whites were pressed with whole clusters, being careful not to press too hard, fermented at 16° Celsius in stainless steel, then racked into barrel with the lees. I used SO2 for the first time one month after malolactic. Most cuvées will be bottled next spring.”  Vinous