Pascal Aufranc - Chénas En Rémont Vignes de 1939 - 2018

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Pascal Aufranc began his career as a winemaker with just 1.6 hectares, located on the steep hillside of En-Rémont, at an elevation of 350 meters. It is here that he renovated an old farmhouse amidst vineyards planted in the 1930s. These vineyards, surrounded by oak trees (the name “Chénas” comes from these woods planted before the vines), now make up the estate’s vineyard: 10 hectares, including 7 in Juliénas, 2 in Chénas, and 1 in Fleurie. This secluded green setting, hidden from view yet offering a panoramic vista, produces wines with a rich, spicy body perfectly balanced by their granite-based terroir. The 2016 vintages are excellent, particularly the estate’s flagship cuvée, Probus. Connoisseurs will prefer the Chénas and Fleurie crus from 2017.

Bourgogne Aujourd'hui

About the wine:

Made from 70-year-old vines, this cuvée remains firmly at the top of its class. 15,000 wonderful bottles of this Chénas were produced. Deep garnet color, aromas of fresh black fruit and spices... Concentrated, velvety, rich, and pure on the palate, with a “Rhône-like” character and great length. Highest score of the tasting: 18/20.

About the estate:

Pascal Aufranc began his career in 1993, and our tasting of old vintages featured in this issue demonstrates that he has been producing excellent wines for quite some time. His estate covers 9.5 hectares, half in Chénas and half in Juliénas. The estate’s two flagship wines received the “best” rating among the 2013 vintages in their respective appellations. His Chénas Vigne de 1939 (the year of planting), grown on pure pink granite, comes from two plots adjacent to the estate (known as Rémont) totaling two hectares. The wine is dense, but undoubtedly a bit finer and more rounded than the Probus cuvée. The latter is the “essence of Juliénas,” a robust wine structured for aging, made from 50- to 55-year-old vines and three plots in the Les Crots and En Capitans climats on sandy-loam soils. Both wines are vinified in the same way, using whole clusters, “à la beaujolaise,” and in toasted vats; a wooden grid placed over the grapes keeps them submerged in the juice. As for the Juliénas Les Cerisiers cuvée, it is anything but a mere stopgap. The vines may be a bit younger and the maceration times a bit shorter, but it remains a full-bodied, dense Juliénas. “There’s fruit, but not only that,” explains Pascal Aufranc. (5 vintages awarded by Bourgogne Aujourd’hui)

Wine Enthusiast

James Suckling