Domaine Pierre GUILLEMOT: 2013s

Domaine Pierre GUILLEMOT (Savigny-les-Beaune)

2013s from Cask

My first several visits on this trip, recounted above, were to estates where for the most part one must be very lucky and very well-off to obtain the wines, and there are more of those to come. But you’ll see as my reports on this tasting trip continue, I also make it a point to taste at estates where the wines are more readily available and at considerably more modest prices – wines for drinkers as opposed to collectors, if you will.

I’ve been drinking Guillemot’s wines since the 1985 vintage and visiting there since the early 1990s – I’ve now had three generations receive me there.

Savigny-les-Beaune was one of the areas very hard hit by the July 23, 2013 hail. Additionally, malolactic fermentations were very late here (some were still going when I visited on October 28), so not all wines produced were available to taste.

Harvesting began at the end of September or beginning of October. The Savigny-Jarrons and Narbantons were entirely destemmed, the Savigny-Gravains and Serpentières and the Corton had a little whole cluster fruit in them.

2013 Bourgogne rouge

Malolactic fermentation was still not completely finished when I sampled this wine. The wine is light and flavorful with strawberries and other red berries. (85-88)

2013 Savigny-les-Beaune   Les Grands Picotins

This wine was still fully in malo when I tasted it. Yields are down here about 30% from normal. The wine shows more weight and darker fruit than the Bourgogne did. Very good concentration here. (88-91)

2013 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru – Les Serpentières

Production for this wine is off about 40% from a normal harvest. But the quality is excellent – the wine is dense and powerful with good concentration and depth, but also finesse. The aging capacity of Guillemot’s Serpentières is outstanding. I’ve had bottles well over forty years old that have been magnificent. (90-93)

2013 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru – Aux Gravains

Malo was still not quite finished here. The wine shows good concentration to its red and dark fruit and it has power to go with a smooth texture. (89-92)

2013 Corton

This wine comes from the Rognet vineyard on the east-facing slope of the Corton hill, and the vines escaped the hail in 2013. The wine is fuller, as one would expect, than the Savignys, dark, and round, with rounder tannins than the Savignys. I may be underestimating it for the moment. (88-92)

2013 Savigny-les-Beaune    Dessus les Gollardes  blanc

This wine was sampled from bottle. Half the wine underwent alcoholic fermentation in cask, half in stainless steel, and then all of it was raised in oak. The wine is light, clear, and elegant with a bit of tropical fruit and good freshness. 87+/B