Tasted: January 4, 2023

Appellation: Savigny-Les-Beaune, Bourgogne, France

Denying the good pleasure of white Burgundies is a crime. Last night, just before leaving my house for a mid-week rendezvous, the poison-of-the-evening looked at me from the corner of my wine rack begging to be chosen. I stared back and complied. It was the Pascal Clément Savigny-Les-Beaune “dessus les vermots” 2017, a wine that came from a recent Grey Gardens wine club shipment. Jake Saksun’s wine selections always exceed expectations, and his wine club is one of the best decisions I have made as a wine consumer.

To me, tasting a ‘village’ Burgundy from a winery/grower based in the same village is a great way to experience the terroir from one of its authorities. Well, Pascal Clément is based in Savigny-les-Beaune, where he owns a half hectare organic vineyard. I am convinced that this wine is a great window into his perception of what ‘home’ means to him.

Pascal also farms 10 ha across 29 appellations in Bourgogne for his wines, 80% of if which is white. He uses no chemical, does native ferment in barrel, employs MLF, and never uses battonage in his wines.

The initial impression was a heavily oaked Chardonnay, but wait, how could it be? Was the perception influenced by the appassimento reds I drank just moments ago? By the time we had glass numero 2, we were convinced the oak had blown off. Utter nonsense, you may think. Oak is not a character that would ‘blow off’, wouldn’t it?

In retrospect, it’s likely malo-town. The wine was rich, yet elegant. Lush, with great mineral nuances. A full-bodied white Burgundy that ends all white Burgundy cravings, with concentrated ripe peaches, fleshy orange honeysuckle, and nutmeg notes that linger. A youthful wine that can benefit from years of cellaring… but I must cancel this thought immediately.

As far as wine is concerned, infanticide is not a felony but an inevitable guilty pleasure that will haunt us until the end of time.

89/100