Introducing the Organic Burgundies of Domaine Céline Perrin, Plus 2020 Auxey-Duresses from Gilles Lafouge!
10/29/22 -
Domaine Céline Perrin, Ladoix
We're always looking for estates in Burgundy that practice organic farming, so we were very happy to find Domaine Céline Perrin in Ladoix which converted to organic agriculture in 2003 and received Ecocert certification in 2008. Céline Perrin took over the estate from her father Christian in 2015 and is the fifth generation at this 9 hectare domain, with vineyards in 10 different appellations. The estate sells most of their small production to local clients and restaurants, so we're fortunate to have a small allocation from the excellent 2020 vintage.
"Our viticulture is based on respect for the soil and the rythme of the seasons, letting nature and the terroir express themselves. In the vineyard weed control is done mechancally (with a blade along the base of the vine) as well as manually with hoes."
A few Highlights:
The Bourgogne Aligoté comes from vines that are over 80 years-old, thus a bit more dense and full-bodied than most Aligoté - it's the perfect aperitif!
2020 Bourgogne Blanc This hails from the thin stony soils of Ladoix. The wine shows a very pale gold color and subtle aromas of apple, pear, dried herbs (mint) and a bit of oak. The palate is lean and dense showing the limestone terroir, with a rather strong saline minerality with white fruit and citrus flavors, finishing bone-dry with stone and citrus in the long finish.
2020 Ladoix "Sur les Vris" is Chardonnay from an east-facing slope in the north part of Ladoix abutting ancient quarries and just below the 1er Cru "Les Gréchons."
2020 Ladoix 1er Cru "Les Gréchons" is just to the northeast of the Grand Cru Corton-Mourottes, on the north side of the hill of Corton. The slope is covered with limestone scree and pebbles - tailings from ancient limestone quarries.
2020 Meursault "Sous la Velle" is from a large parcel just south of the village, giving wines that tend to be quite round and full-bodied, ideal for drinking as young wines.
2020 Hautes-Côtes de Nuits is from vines in and around Ladoix, including the "Clos des Fourches," a tiny parcel above Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru "Clos de la Maréchale."
2020 Ladoix "Briquottes" is from another part of the quarries that used to cover this slope, just below the 1er Cru "Les Gréchons" - the stone was cut into "briques" that were wrapped in paper and put between the bed covers in the winter.
2020 Aloxe-Corton "Les Boutières" is from a parcel at the southern tip of Aloxe-Corton, bordering Chorey and Savigny-les-Beaune. The name refers to an ancient road that continued up though Savigny and Pernand-Vergelesses used by mule-drivers carrying "boutes' - goat-skins filled with wine (sometimes from Etruria and Campania (!) as early as the 2nd century BC).
Domaine Gilles Lafouge, Auxey-Duresses
(2020 vintage, part 2) While value is relative in the ever more expensive world of Burgundy, perhaps no grower offers as much value as Gilles Lafouge. The wines are precise, honest and satisfying at prices that allow for (nearly) everyday drinking as well as cellaring beautifully. John Gilman's excellent View From the Cellar concurs:
Not surprisingly, for folks who have been following the wines from Domaine Lafouge over the last decade or so, Gilles Lafouge has made utterly superb wines in the 2020 vintage. He started picking his chardonnay parcels on August 23rd and finished the last of his pinot noir parcels within the week. All of the domaine’s white wines come in between thirteen and 13.5 percent octane in this vintage and are absolutely precise, minerally-infused and very pure wines that strongly recall the wines from Domaine Roulot in their snap, lime-scented fruit tones and beautifully pure expressions of their underlying terroir. Not surprisingly, Monsieur Lafouge considers 2020 an absolutely exceptional vintage for white wines from his domaine, which he notes “have the fine acidity and minerality of 2014, but even better depth than that vintage.” Like so many estates in the Côte de Beaune, he observed that “yields for the white wines were very correct in 2020, but red wines were down on average about thirty percent in this vintage.” He felt that it was very important to keep the texture of the tannins as refined as possible in 2020, so he did no pigeages (punch-downs) at all for his red wines in this vintage and was content to simply pump over the juice for extraction, as he did not want to extract any coarseness in his tannins. His red wines are very black fruity in the style of the vintage, but also quite classically proportioned and beautifully reflective of their underlying terroir." Domaine Lafouge is definitely "under the radar" but is producing beautiful Burgundies that are superb values!
There is excellent vineyard work here, in the process to becoming organic, with very short pruning and no green harvest. Hand-harvesting and wild-yeast fermentations of course, about 10 to 25% new oak, minimal batonnage for the whites and natural clarifications. A particular standout and superb value is the "village" Auxey-Duresses Rouge - it shows pretty aromatics with lovely ripeness and balance on the palate - it's delicious now and will drink nicely over the next ten to fifteen years.
(Lafouge tasting notes are fom Mr. Gilman's "View from the Cellar" - any serious wine-lover should consider subscribing!)
