Savigny lès Beaune "Aux Fourneaux" - 2018 - François de Nicolay

Pinot Noir from 60-year-old vines farmed biodynamically and planted on clay and limestone soils, just below mid-slope, facing East South-East, with yields of 28hl/ha. Vinification is respectful of the grapes: two weeks of maceration in whole bunches in concrete and conical wooden vats, 18 months of maturation on its lees in 228-litre oak barrels. Bottled without fining or filtration, just a micro dose of sulphur.

François de Nicolay, child of the ‘70 vintage and head of Domaine Chandon de Briailles, today embodies the renewal of this historic estate, straddling the line between modernity and respect for tradition. A family property since 1834, located four kilometres north of Beaune, the estate extends over 13.7 hectares in the communes of Savigny-Lès-Beaune, Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton. After graduating from business school and several experiences in Europe, the United States and Hong Kong, François began a gradual return to the family business, by undertaking a winemaking internship in Oregon. He’d then open a wine shop in Paris, distributing the wines from his family’s estate and other great Burgundian names. He finally left the capital in 2001 in order to devote himself entirely to the Domaine, whose reputation was obviously already well established... Yet the arrival of François and his sister Claude at Chandon de Briailles has injected new life into the estate: since introducing biodynamic viticulture at the estate in 2005, a resolve to respect the grapes and embrace sulphur-free vinification are just a couple of the elements driving this complementary duo as they seek to reveal the particularity of each of their climats, vintage after vintage.