- Description
- Producer
- Vineyards
- Vintage
- Vinification
- Reviews
Practising Biodynamic, Certified Organic
From vines located above Saint-Aubin, `Sous Eguisons` displays a lively citrus character with notes of bright grapefruit and lemon. Poised on the palate with a slight creaminess, balanced by pithy citrus acidity and a long mineral finish.
ABV 12.5%
This famous domaine has been run by Caroline Lestimé, Jean-Noël’s daughter, since 1989. Its 12.5 hectares of outstanding vineyards have been certified organic since 2014, and are now run biodynamically, though are not yet certified as such. Most of the estate’s vineyards are in the heart of Chassagne, with one vineyard in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, which looks down on St. Aubin and was planted in 2015. The wines coming off that site, ‘Clos Bortier’, are now making quite a name for themselves.
Caroline’s wines are very classic. There is little ‘struck match’ character, yet the wines are tight and closed when young, furled in a ball of intense and crystalline fruit. There are no tricks; they are, in the best sense of the phrase, ‘low intervention’ wines, with each expressing the character of its site. The grapes are all whole-bunch pressed and fermented in oak, a maximum of 30% of which is new, with a very light toast. The wines spend about 18 months in oak before bottling. They display a lovely purity of fruit due to their freshness and the low toast of the oak, but have all the characteristics of wines that will blossom after a few years in bottle.
The ‘Les Chaumes’ vineyard borders Premier Cru ‘La Boudriotte’ but is only a ‘villages’ wine. On tasting, as on location, it is very much of a ‘superior’ villages. The wine shows a Puligny-like acid on the finish that cuts through the intense fruit on the palate. ‘La Boudriotte’ is as rich and silky as Les ‘Chaumes’ is tight and racy. From 28-year-old vines planted on clay soil, it is rounder on the palate with a supple texture and a lovely perfume of white flowers that lingers long on the finish. ‘Les Caillerets’ is another step up, however. It is more closed on the nose with a hint of flint giving way to a wine that show superb class and balance, and promises great things for the future – if you can keep your hands off it. We also have a small quantity of Caroline’s ‘Bâtard-Montrachet’, which has a lovely grainy, nutty fruit character that seems to last forever.
Historically, Chassagne was well known for its reds, due in part to the higher presence of red clay topsoil in the vineyards. Caroline’s red, named ‘L’Estimée’, has a pretty nose with good structure on the palate, nice intensity and good length.
Moving up the hill to the Hautes Côtes, the ‘Clos Bortier’ bears the stamp of the Gagnard style. It is pure and expressive, but lacks any of the flashiness that characterises too many white Burgundies. It has lovely richness on the palate with nice acid and good length on the finish. The fruit for the Crémant de Bourgogne ‘Grand Lys’, made solely from Pinot Noir, also comes from this site. Aged for three years on its lees with a low dosage, it is, as you might expect from this domaine, richer and more complex than many wines from this appellation. Also made solely Pinot Noir, the Crémant de Bourgogne Lys Rosé is sourced from the same limestone, marl slopes that overlook the village of Saint-Aubin. Made using the ‘saignée’ method, the wine is aged on its lees for 12 months, and displays a crisp freshness and delicate notes of redcurrant and wild strawbery. And both Crémants de Bourgogne are, like all their other wines, certified organic.
The name "Sous Eguison" refers to a cliff that overlooks the vineyard. This cliff protects the vines from northerly winds – a considerable advantage given the vineyard’s altitude where the climate is less propitious and spring frosts are much harsher. The shelter provided by the cliff also allows for a longer growing season that helps the grapes to fully ripen. The vineyard is located in the commune of La Rochepot on an embankment that overlooks and borders the western part of the Saint-Aubin appellation, with a south-easterly aspect. Soils consist of limestone colluvial deposits that lend an elegant minerality to the wine. The vines are on average 18 years old and are trained low using the Guyot system, planted at a density of 10,000 per hectare.
2020 in Burgundy was characterised by hot and dry conditions. Following a mild spring, temperatures remained consistently warm throughout summer, which resulted in minimal disease risk in the vineyards. By harvest the berries were of superb quality, displaying intense aromatic and flavour intensity.
The grapes were hand picked and immediately brought to the winery to be sorted and delicately pressed using a pneumatic winepress. The must was kept in vats for 24 to 48 hours for static settling. After this initial natural clarification, it was transferred to a combination of oak barrels and stainless-steel tanks to undergo fermentation and malolactic conversion at a controlled temperature of 18° C, using indigenous yeasts. The wine was then racked to both stainless-steel tanks and 228 litre oak barrels from the Tronçais and Allier forests, a third of which were new, to age for 12 to 15 months. Finally, it was lightly filtered before being bottled under screwcap at the Domaine.
2020 Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune `Sous Eguisons`
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10% off when you buy 6 bottles or 15% off when you buy 12 bottles
100% Bio-dynamic and organic
Recyclable packaging
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- Description
- Producer
- Vineyards
- Vintage
- Vinification
- Reviews
Practising Biodynamic, Certified Organic
From vines located above Saint-Aubin, `Sous Eguisons` displays a lively citrus character with notes of bright grapefruit and lemon. Poised on the palate with a slight creaminess, balanced by pithy citrus acidity and a long mineral finish.
ABV 12.5%
This famous domaine has been run by Caroline Lestimé, Jean-Noël’s daughter, since 1989. Its 12.5 hectares of outstanding vineyards have been certified organic since 2014, and are now run biodynamically, though are not yet certified as such. Most of the estate’s vineyards are in the heart of Chassagne, with one vineyard in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, which looks down on St. Aubin and was planted in 2015. The wines coming off that site, ‘Clos Bortier’, are now making quite a name for themselves.
Caroline’s wines are very classic. There is little ‘struck match’ character, yet the wines are tight and closed when young, furled in a ball of intense and crystalline fruit. There are no tricks; they are, in the best sense of the phrase, ‘low intervention’ wines, with each expressing the character of its site. The grapes are all whole-bunch pressed and fermented in oak, a maximum of 30% of which is new, with a very light toast. The wines spend about 18 months in oak before bottling. They display a lovely purity of fruit due to their freshness and the low toast of the oak, but have all the characteristics of wines that will blossom after a few years in bottle.
The ‘Les Chaumes’ vineyard borders Premier Cru ‘La Boudriotte’ but is only a ‘villages’ wine. On tasting, as on location, it is very much of a ‘superior’ villages. The wine shows a Puligny-like acid on the finish that cuts through the intense fruit on the palate. ‘La Boudriotte’ is as rich and silky as Les ‘Chaumes’ is tight and racy. From 28-year-old vines planted on clay soil, it is rounder on the palate with a supple texture and a lovely perfume of white flowers that lingers long on the finish. ‘Les Caillerets’ is another step up, however. It is more closed on the nose with a hint of flint giving way to a wine that show superb class and balance, and promises great things for the future – if you can keep your hands off it. We also have a small quantity of Caroline’s ‘Bâtard-Montrachet’, which has a lovely grainy, nutty fruit character that seems to last forever.
Historically, Chassagne was well known for its reds, due in part to the higher presence of red clay topsoil in the vineyards. Caroline’s red, named ‘L’Estimée’, has a pretty nose with good structure on the palate, nice intensity and good length.
Moving up the hill to the Hautes Côtes, the ‘Clos Bortier’ bears the stamp of the Gagnard style. It is pure and expressive, but lacks any of the flashiness that characterises too many white Burgundies. It has lovely richness on the palate with nice acid and good length on the finish. The fruit for the Crémant de Bourgogne ‘Grand Lys’, made solely from Pinot Noir, also comes from this site. Aged for three years on its lees with a low dosage, it is, as you might expect from this domaine, richer and more complex than many wines from this appellation. Also made solely Pinot Noir, the Crémant de Bourgogne Lys Rosé is sourced from the same limestone, marl slopes that overlook the village of Saint-Aubin. Made using the ‘saignée’ method, the wine is aged on its lees for 12 months, and displays a crisp freshness and delicate notes of redcurrant and wild strawbery. And both Crémants de Bourgogne are, like all their other wines, certified organic.
The name "Sous Eguison" refers to a cliff that overlooks the vineyard. This cliff protects the vines from northerly winds – a considerable advantage given the vineyard’s altitude where the climate is less propitious and spring frosts are much harsher. The shelter provided by the cliff also allows for a longer growing season that helps the grapes to fully ripen. The vineyard is located in the commune of La Rochepot on an embankment that overlooks and borders the western part of the Saint-Aubin appellation, with a south-easterly aspect. Soils consist of limestone colluvial deposits that lend an elegant minerality to the wine. The vines are on average 18 years old and are trained low using the Guyot system, planted at a density of 10,000 per hectare.
2020 in Burgundy was characterised by hot and dry conditions. Following a mild spring, temperatures remained consistently warm throughout summer, which resulted in minimal disease risk in the vineyards. By harvest the berries were of superb quality, displaying intense aromatic and flavour intensity.
The grapes were hand picked and immediately brought to the winery to be sorted and delicately pressed using a pneumatic winepress. The must was kept in vats for 24 to 48 hours for static settling. After this initial natural clarification, it was transferred to a combination of oak barrels and stainless-steel tanks to undergo fermentation and malolactic conversion at a controlled temperature of 18° C, using indigenous yeasts. The wine was then racked to both stainless-steel tanks and 228 litre oak barrels from the Tronçais and Allier forests, a third of which were new, to age for 12 to 15 months. Finally, it was lightly filtered before being bottled under screwcap at the Domaine.
Always organic
At the heart of our philosophy is our passion for delivering wines that our good for our customers and good for the planet. Whilst we have many wines that are also Bio-dynamic, Vegan or Vegetarian, the essential element is that all of our wines have been produced using organic farming and production methods.
Expertly curated
1,000’s of hours are spent researching, searching, tasting and comparing our organic and Bio-dynamic wine selection. We always consider our customers needs, we listen to feedback and always endeavour to match our wines to our customers tastes. Our wines are carefully chosen and presented thoughtfully.
