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The Metamorphosis of Burgundian Premier Cru: Savigny-lès-Beaune ‘Les Narbantons’ in Six Acts Spanning a Quarter of a Century (6-Bottle Pack $499)

It’s a rare treat for Elie Wine Company to offer such a depth of excellent vintages from a single producer. A gustatory exploration of these selections bears witness to the evolution of a specific Burgundian house style, a changing climate, and perhaps most fascinating of all, the sensory profile that a single variety—Pinot Noir—develops as a kaleidoscope of tertiary flavors and scents develop with bottle age.

Provenance is guaranteed for these wines, of course, so you know that storage conditions have been optimal.

Côte de Beaune
Dijon is Burgundy’s official capital, but unless you’re interested in cellar-aging Grey Poupon, it’s better to think of the spiritual center for all things wine: Beaune. It’s the town where the bacchanalian brotherhood Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin meet, and home to the magnificent Hospices de Beaune, where the world’s most famous wine auction is held in November of each year.

Côte de Beaune is the southern half of the escarpment of the Côte d’Or, named after the town of Beaune. It is a narrow strip of land less than 3 miles wide and about 16 miles long that runs in a north-easterly direction from the river Dheune. The climate is continental, with slightly higher temperatures and more rainfall than in its sister region, the Côte de Nuits. Vineyards are planted to 58% Chardonnay, with Pinot Noir representing 42% (the rest are Aligoté, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris). Red wines from this appellation tend to be bright and fruit-forward in youth; meaty and savory with age.

Savigny-lès-Beaune: A River Runs Through It
Chances are, you love wines from the Rhine and are passionate about wines from the Rhône, but at first glance, ‘wines of the Rhoin’ may look like a typo. In fact, this small river flows from the cliffs of Bouilland through the commune of Savigny-lès-Beaune, and alluvia from the overflow adds fertility to the lower slopes of the hills of Beaune. With nearly nine hundred acres of vineyard, the appellation is one of Burgundy’s largest.

Savigny’s terroir features a gentle gradient that becomes steeper as the altitudes approach 1300 feet, where the geology is similar to that of the great Grand Cru hill of Corton. Favored exposures face the south, where the soils are gravelly and scattered with oolitic ironstone. Near the river valley, the red-brown limestone becomes more clayey and pebbly, while the east-facing slopes consist of sand and limestone.

Savigny-lès-Beaune – Premier Cru ‘Les Narbantons’
Covering nearly 25 acres on the edge of the Mont Battois hill above the Rhoin river valley (making it one of the largest vineyards in Savigny), the most striking anomaly of this Premier Cru climat is its northerly exposure, offering it less sunlight than other vineyards along the Cote d’Or, where the top climats face predominantly southeast. The vineyard is planted exclusively to Pinot Noir, which flourishes in the well-drained gravel—a base that absorbs warmth during the day and provides a thermal blanket throughout the night, aiding the ripening process.

Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret
The name ‘Mongeard’ first makes an appearance in Burgundy in 1786, where records show a Mongeard working as vigneron for Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Skip forward to 1945, when at the age of 16, Jean Mongeard (whose mother was from Famille Mugneret) made wine which he sold by the barrel to négociants. The entire 1945 crop was purchased by Baron le Roy, Marquis D’Angerville, and Henri Gouges, who suggested that the young Mongeard start bottling the wines himself.

In 1975, Jean’s son Vincent began working alongside his father and became responsible for viticulture and vinification of the domaine’s wines. He persuaded his father to return to the traditional method of bottling without filtration and filtering only in certain vintages. Upon his retirement in 1995, Vincent assumed complete leadership of the domain, which now covers more than 75 acres, split among 35 appellations.

2019 Vintage
2019 is a vintage that had already generated excitement in Burgundy by harvest-time, and the accolades have grown since. The winter was extremely mild, but the spring was chilly, with April frosts cutting yields. Flowering was uneven due to a cooler than average June and some bunches suffered from millerandage, further cutting yields. Temperatures then warmed up rapidly, so that surviving grapes were highly concentrated and produced a small but brilliant vintage, well-balanced and with great potential. The red wines carry a particular punch, classic in style, but with rich fruit and structure promising a broad drinking window.

2019 Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru Les Narbantons ($68): From their 6-acre parcel in Les Narbantons, Vincent Mongeard drew from vines more than a half century old, hand harvesting and sorting the grapes, then aging the wine in 30% new oak. The wine shows a deep and complex bouquet of cassis, fresh wild berries, wood smoke, cola with some hazelnuts and citrus rind. A muscular mouthful, it’s layered with powdery tannins, lively acids and a long, sapid finish.

 

 

2019 Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny-lès-Beaune ($55): 1.5 acres parcel planted to vines with an average age of 36 years, the wine sees around 15% new oak. Youthful and intense, this brilliant ruby-colored Pinot displays characteristic aromas of spice and violet mingled with wild blackberry; nice length and elegance.

 

 

 

 

 

2017 Vintage
Low yields may or may not produce excellent vintages, but high yielding vintages like 2017 tend to produce what the French refer to as ‘restaurant wines,’ meaning that they offer plenty of fragrance, attractive fruit, lacy tannins, reasonably strong terroir characters and an overall air of approachability. 2017 was the most consistent growing season in several years, and many of the vines that had suffered badly in the previous year’s frosts went into overdrive and were, in some cases, overladen with fruit. Some producers chose to green harvest to counter this problem, as too much fruit can result in a lack of concentration in the individual berries. The Pinot Noir harvest began in early September and was finished before the heavy rains of October set it, leading to some spectacular wines.

2017 Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru Les Narbantons ($84): Once destemmed, the grape bunches were crushed, macerated cold for a week, fermented in stainless steel before being aged in French oak (1/3 new) for 18 months, then bottled unfiltered. The wine’s vivid red still shows through the brick-tones, and the firm tannic structure that has now become integrated with the dark fruit notes.

 

 

 

2014 Vintage 
In Beaune, 2014 will be remembered as the year of the hailstorm(s). After a mild spring and a successful bud-burst and flowering, the first of two storms came in June, devastating vineyards throughout Burgundy, but in Beaune especially. The second struck in July, affecting mostly Marsannay. By the middle of August, sunny conditions became the norm, and as expected, the harvest finished small, but the quality was high.

2014 Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru Les Narbantons ($84): The 2014 Savigny-lès-Beaune Narbantons comes from 53-year-old vines and is matured in 30% to 40% new oak. With enough time under its belt to reveal the nuanced layers beneath its primary fruit and tannin, body and grip, mushroom notes and meat stock aromas have begun to appear and for the oak tannins to integrate more completely into the wine’s fleshy body.

 

 

 

2009 Vintage
The 2009 vintage was spectacular in Burgundy, with Pinot-based reds being rich in concentrated fruit and heady aromatics and offering great structure. In Beaune, an unseasonably warm spring prompted an early budburst and flowering, and things progressed will until mid-July, which delivered overcast, humid conditions, making rot and disease like downy and powdery mildew a problem. However, by August, clear skies returned and a heatwave ensured and lasted through September, which was relieved by rain, saving the day.

2009 Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru Les Narbantons ($109): Morello cherry and cranberry linger behind dry potpourri with hints of spice and tertiary notes of earth, tobacco, and forest floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Scented and Fugitive Soul: The Truth about Old Wine
The primary myth about wine is that it invariably improves with age; in fact, the number of wines that benefit from being kept beyond a year or two of the release date is extremely limited, and those that can become ever more nuanced and intriguing after a decade in the bottle is probably a fraction of 1%. The second myth is that you, as a consumer, prefer the subtle flavors of a mature wine more than the fruity immediacy of the same wine when young.

Well-aged wine, particularly from Burgundy, may even be an acquired taste, and understanding it is certainly an exercise requiring the same patience it takes to cellar it.

Certainly, the Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny-lès-Beaune selections in this package have been sculpted by time and curated by a master sculptor, but no human intervention or winemaking technique has (or could) compare to the mysterious and enhancing effects of age. They display a true expression of terroir and specificity of site rather than general varietal characteristics, and the nexus of age and beauty within these wines is emblematic of what properly-aged Burgundy is capable of producing: a sublime blend of fruity and savory sensations.
1996 Vintage
Very warm weather early in the season led to a swift flowering, but it was followed by a spotty summer in terms of heat and rainfall. August was relatively cool, but late August and the entire month of September was sunny and dry, with cool nights that preserved acidity. The outcome was a large crop of extremely healthy grapes with high sugars, excellent acidity, and deep color—in short, an ideal vintage to produce wines capable of maturing into a transcendental experience.

1996 Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru Les Narbantons ($99) Well within the drinking window of a well-made 1er Cru, the wine is beyond the angular period that may occur in Burgundies between seven and 12 years in bottle. Whether it is at the pinnacle of its potential remains to be seen, but the wine currently displays beautiful rim-bricking and aromas of black cherry, leather, brewed tea and underbrush. The mid-palate is expansive, with soft tannins and sparks of juicy acidity.

 

2019 Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret
Pre-Arrival Offer (Limited Time) + Older Vintages in stock
Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret properties spread across 35 appellation and include both white and red wines. The following list is of a number of 2019 releases from a selection of these climats, as always, with a nose toward quality and an eye toward value. The prices are honored on pre-arrival basis.

Régionales

Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits ‘Les Dames Huguettes’ ($42)

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Bourgogne Rouge ($35)

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Villages

Fixin ($52)
(2014) Fixin ($67), in stock

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Fixin ‘Vieille Vigne’ ($64)
(2017) Fixin ‘Vieille Vigne’ ($80), in stock

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Gevrey-Chambertin ($74)
(1996) Gevrey-Chambertin ($145), in stock

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Vosne-Romanée ($74)
(2017) Vosne-Romanée ($99), in stock
(2014) Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Les Orveaux ($180), in stock

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Nuits-Saint-Georges ‘Les Plateaux’ ($72)
(2014) Nuits-Saint-Georges ‘Les Plateaux’ ($97), in stock
(2017) Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Boudots ($135), in stock
(2003) Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Boudots ($246), in stock
(1996) Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Aux Boudots ($198), in stock

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Premiers Crus

Beaune Premier Cru Les Avaux ($76)

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Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru Les Vergelesses ($76)

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Vougeot Premier Cru Les Cras ($104)
(2017) Vougeot Premier Cru Les Cras ($144), in stock
(2003) Vougeot Premier Cru Les Cras ($220), in stock

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Grands Crus

Échezeaux Grand Cru ‘La Grande Complication’ ($256)
(2017) Échezeaux Grand Cru ‘La Grande Complication’ ($351), in stock
(2017) Échezeaux Grand Cru ($287), in stock
(2014) Échezeaux Grand Cru ($250), in stock

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Grands Échezeaux Grand Cru ($256)
(2014) Grands Échezeaux Grand Cru ($290), in stock
(2009) Grands Échezeaux Grand Cru ($390), in stock
(2003) Grands Échezeauz Grand Cru ($450), in stock

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Clos Vougeot Grand Cru ($224)
(2017) Clos Vougeot Grand Cru ($243), in stock
(2009) Clos Vougeot Grand Cru ($377), in stock
(2003) Clos Vougeot Grand Cru ($445), in stock
(1996) Clos Vougeot Grand Cru ($445), in stock

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Posted on 2022.02.28 in Côte de Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune, France, Burgundy, Wine-Aid Packages

 

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1601 E 14 Mile Road
Birmingham, MI 48009 USA

Northeast corner of Woodward & 14 Mile
248.398.0030
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