Chandon de Briailles Savigny 1er Cru Aux Fournaux 2022

Domaine Chandon de Briailles lies a few kilometres north of Beaune in Burgundy's Côte de Beaune, an estate making wine since 1834 and now run by the Nicolay family. This is a Pinot Noir from the premier cru vineyard Aux Fournaux, in Savigny-lès-Beaune. The Côte d'Or's limestone and marl slopes are the classic terroir for Pinot Noir, where the angle of the hillside and the cool continental climate, with warm days and cold nights, hold the grape's acidity and build the aromatic detail that separates premier cru from village wine. Farming is biodynamic and organic. The fruit is fermented and then aged 18 months in French oak, a longer elevage suited to a cru wine, where slow oxygen exchange refines the tannins and knits the fruit and barrel together without overwhelming the wine. The colour is medium ruby. The nose shows red cherry, raspberry and plum, with rose, liquorice and a forest-floor earthiness. The palate is medium bodied and structured, with fine, firm tannins, fresh acidity and a long, mineral finish that rewards a few years in the cellar. Serve at 15 to 16 degrees and decant when young. It pairs with duck, game and mushrooms.