Fanny Sabre Beauties
Fanny Sabre Beauties
I was truly excited this past week to get to attend a masterclass and tasting with none other than Fanny Sabre herself. As someone who has proudly served and offered her wines for years now, I was thrilled to be able to meet her and hear firsthand about her experiences and opinions. Fanny's wines are no stranger to our shelves as our team was the first to import the wines back in the early 2010s and over the last year and a half we have worked to keep her wines on the shelves whenever possible. For those who are not as familiar with Fanny, she comes from a winemaking family in Pommard. Initially she went to school to study law, but when her father passed away, she chose to return home and run the family estate. With the help of Philippe Pacalet, she learned the ins and outs of organic farming and natural winemaking. About 20 years into her winemaking career now, Fanny has an amazing balance of confidence in her methods while also continuing to experiment and learn more, especially as global warming has changed so much across all regions. Today she farms just over 8 hectares organically (since 2001) across 35 different plots all within the Cote de Beaune. Although she does not vinify all 35 plots separately, today’s offer includes three of her wines that are each sourced from 1 plot: Beaune Clos des Renardes Blanc and Rouge alongside her Savigny-les-Beaune.
During the class she talked about how her wines are “just fermented juice and sulfites.” Now don’t be scared here that there are sulfites in the wine, as she adds tiny amounts, just enough to protect her wines. For the reds she implements 100% whole cluster fermentation, and she believes this helps to conserve freshness and make a more complete wine. Truly, so much of her winemaking approach is to preserve freshness, as I read through my notes this was written no less than four times. This preservation is clear as you taste through Fanny’s wines, she has an expert touch. The reds are incredibly aromatic with purity of fruit and great lift. Her white wines are a lesson in texture, with the key to the incredible acidity in her Clos des Renardes Blanc being the inclusion of 10% Pinot Blanc co-planted with the Chardonnay. She picks everything together and it all gets pressed and vinified as one. 2023 is the second vintage she has done this and so far is pleased with the results, yet notes that if at some point it no longer makes sense to include the Pinot Blanc she will rip the vines out and replant with Chardonnay. I admire how her mindet is open to adaptation, yet still strong in her view. She is welcome to changes in a way that still honors the region and is looking to preserve Burgundy in the style we love today. Simply put she wants to make wines that everyone will just want to drink. Today I am highlighting three wines that really shined in the lineup this past week: her Beaune Clos des Renardes Blanc and Rouge as well as her Savigny-les-Beaune.
-Hanna Krilov Cohen
