The village of Savigny-les-Beaune is nestled in a combe, or shallow canyon, between the hills above Beaune and those that include the famous vineyards of Corton. The Le Rhoin stream runs through the town and has some of the most pure, blue, limestone cleaned water I’ve ever seen. Most of the vineyards sit along the hills to the north of the river and face south, instead of the predominantly east facing vineyards that line most of the Cote d’Or.

Due to this exposition and being somewhat hidden from the main road, the wines of Savigny have historically been undervalued. But climate change has been beneficial to these vines, and there have always been excellent producers here. One of the top domaines is Camus-Bruchon, where the very talented young winemaker Guillaume Camus recently took over for his father Lucien, who had been at the helm for 4 decades.

Both Guillaume and Luc are fastidious farmers, everything is done by hand according to sustainable and organic practices. They are blessed with some of the best parcels in Savigny and also some of the oldest vines, many planted by Guillaume’s great-grandmother Reine Joly just before and after WWI. That’s right, some of their vines are now over 100 years old.

In most villages along the Cote d’Or, the top producers with the best vineyards and oldest vines are able to charge triple digits (or even quadruple) for their wines. Not so in Savigny, which is why it is always one of favorite “edges of Burgundy” locales: real deal terroir at prices that you usually don’t find until you get down to the Chalonnaise.

What importer Polaner Selections has to say about this wine...

Vineyard
Aux Grands Liards was planted in 1916 and 1922
Soil
Shallow clay soils over limestone rock.
Viticulture
Lutte-raisonnée. All work is done by hand, including harvest.
Vinification
Partial whole cluster fermentation followed by cold maceration and fermentation for 15 to 20 days.
Aging
12 to 15 months in 30% new French oak barrels