WINE > Domaine Tollot-Beaut Chorey-Les-Beaune Protégée 2018 (93/100 points)

I am very fond of the flavour profile found in Burgundy wines made from grapes grown in Beaune, and while this wine is described by the maker as a “classic rustic red wine” I think it deserves more love and recognition because it is a lot better than that.

THE WINERY

The Tollot family have been growing wine back to the late 1880s when François Tollot began planting vineyards in Chorey-lès-Beaune. The family is still running the business and decendents; Nathalie, Jean- Paul, and Olivier Tollot are now in charge. With a range of wines that express the terroir and pedigree from Bourgogne to Grand Cru.

Chorey-lès-Beaune lies on the plains below the Cote d’Or escarpment and there are 336 acres which are almost exclusively planted with Pinot Noir. The Tollot family has expanded into surrounding regions with small acquisitions in Savigny-lès-Beaune, Aloxe-Corton, and Beaune for a current total of 60 acres of vines.

Most of the wine grown in Chorey-lès-Beaune is bottled as Côte de Beaune-Villages, which is a catchall appellation that allows several villages to blend their red wines together. However Tollot-Beaut is proud of their village and produces this classic example from vines planted between 1992 and 1998.

THE WINE MAKING

As with most top domaines, the work in the vineyards is of the greatest importance, they don’t use any fertilizers, significant pruning is undertaken in the summer to help promote healthy grapes that deliver balanced, subtle and complex aromas. After hand harvesting grapes, grapes are de-stemmed and go through a traditional manual punching down of the caps and then more modern techniques (pneumatic presses and temperature controlled fermentations).

The wines are matured in a mix of new (25%) and used French oak casks for 18 months and are bottled at the Domaine.

THE TASTING

Starting with a lovely perfume that hints at rose petal, sweet cherry and sour plum, there are spices on the palate too of cinnamon and anise. Fairly light in colour and body the acid levels are nicely in balance with the tannins and leave a lingering finish, its really tasty.