Domaine Arnoux - Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Pimentiers 2018

The estate has twenty-two hectares of vineyards, including eight hectares of red Chorey and one hectare of white Chorey, with the remainder spread across Savigny, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, and Pernand-Vergelesses. The entire harvest is bottled. Pascal Arnoux and his wife Caroline are now assisted by their son Jean-Baptiste with winemaking and vineyard work, and by their daughter Audrey with marketing and communications. Since 2014, the estate has had new temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks to better regulate fermentation temperatures. The soil is plowed, and the grapes are harvested by hand, with a sorting table upon arrival at the winery. The whites are vinified traditionally and then aged for ten months, with 10% new oak. The reds undergo a three-week maceration period followed by twelve months of aging (10% new oak for village appellations, 20% for premier crus). In some years, the quality of the grapes allows us to keep about 20% of the harvest as whole clusters; “We like a bit of ‘pinot-ness,’ balance is always important; we want to enhance aromatic complexity while maintaining depth—the tannins must support the wine.”

This terroir causes the vines to climb the hillside: it takes its name from “pimont,” which means “foot of the mountain.” At 16 hectares, it is the largest municipal-level climat in the appellation. Pascal Arnoux cultivates 1.5 hectares here, which give rise to this deep-colored cuvée, expressing notes of chocolate and fresh fruit on the nose. Rich and concentrated on the palate, it is supported by silky tannins enveloped in a woody hint of cocoa. Aging is its greatest asset.

Founded in 1950, this family-run estate, located in Chorey-lès-Beaune, has been led since 2008 by Pascal Arnoux, the third generation of the family to head the estate. The portfolio includes a wide range of Côte de Beaune wines (about twenty appellations spanning more than 20 hectares between Beaune and Corton), which are frequently featured in these pages.

Here is a delicate red wine, full of finesse, evoking floral, strawberry, cherry, spice, and mineral aromas and flavors. Firmly structured and well-balanced, it has a long finish with hints of red berries and spices.

The nose of this wine is closed but reveals subtle notes of red cherry and iron oxide. On the palate, it is round, generous, and fresh. It is juicy and bold, with a sumptuous yet well-defined body of dark red cherry.