2021 Domaine Pierre Guillemot, Savigny-Lès-Beaune, Premier Cru “Aux Serpentières” Red Burgundy, France.
The delicious 2021 Guillemot wines are again pure and true Côte de Beaune expressions and show the nature of the place very well with red fruits, spice and earthy tones, with slightly fresher and brighter elements than the last couple of releases, but no less compelling and easy to love, especially this Savigny-Lès-Beaune, Premier Cru Aux Serpentières. The Guillemot family, as famous talent scout and famous importer Kermit Lynch notes, has worked Savigny-Lès-Beaune vines for eight generations now and produces wines with classic Burgundian finesse, balance, and with Savigny’s rustic character, which still is very much a focus here. This vintage shows off its lightness of being without losing its complexity and depth of nuance with spiced cherry, dusty plum, tart cranberry and grilled orange fruits leading the way with hints of chalky stones, flinty mineral, chamomile tea, nutmeg and very faint earthy reduction that blows off quickly and allows the rose petal and berry notes on the nose to allure the senses. This is youthful win, but the texture is satiny when it gets air and it shows way better when had with food, which I highly recommend, after which everything folds into place beautifully. These 21s are really growing on me as I appreciate the delicacy, after being a bigger fan of the richer and more exotic 2020 Burgundies, and Jean-Pierre Guillemot has done a fabulous job here and I look forward to follow them, as I think they have potential to drink nicely for another decade.
The Domaine Pierre Guillemot, originally founded in 1947, a favorite of mine since the 2012 vintage, is one of many traditional producers in Kermit Lynch’s import portfolio, and it was great to check in on the wines recently at Kermit Lynch’s 50th Anniversary tasting in San Francisco, the consistency and quality across the lineup was very noticeable. The collection here, as mentioned in my prior reviews, includes a white Savigny and three main Savigny-Lès-Beaune Rouge offerings that form the core wines, along with an outstanding Corton Grand Cru, but of the main wines I always gravitate to their value savvy Savigny-Lès-Beaune Rouge bottlings. This Savigny-Lès-Beaune Aux Serpentières Premier Cru is the one I always first go for at Guillemot, and this latest vintage is no exception, it as it normally has done, over deliver in this price point, in particular with skyrocketing cost of Burgundies in the last few years, as small crops and difficult vintages have created huge demand for an ever lessening supply of stocks. The Guillemot Savigny-Serpentières 1er Cru plot is set on marl soils and the vines are over 55 years old now, adding to the concentration and terroir expressive character found in the offering. The maceration and fermentation, with primarily de-stemmed grapes, lasts for 15 to 16 days and the must is fermented in wooden cuves with rigorous punch-downs during the entire fermentation process usually 2-3 times a day. After the wine is finished going through primary fermentation it is then racked to barrel where it is aged with just about 10% new oak for close to 18 months before bottling. Guillemot, who practice sustainable farming, only makes about 2,500 cases annually and is a no pretense producer, should definitely be on your radar.
($60 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive