2022 Domaine Pavelot - Savigny les Beaune Aux Gravains

Domaine Jean-Marc et Hugues Pavelot has been passed from father to son for generations in Savigny-lès-Beaune, with Hugues now at the helm of the family estate. The domaine farms about thirteen hectares, mostly around Savigny itself but also in neighboring Beaune and Aloxe-Corton, across a landscape of two hillsides and the valley between them, with soils and exposures that shift from south and southeast to north-east.

Aux Gravains takes its name from the gravel, or graviers, that runs through its light, well-drained soil on a gently sloping, south-facing site. The domaine's 2.22-hectare holding is planted mostly with old vines, about seventy percent around eighty years old and the rest around forty. The wine matures twelve months in barrel, a quarter of it new, yielding a wine built for real aging potential.

Deep garnet in color, the 2022 opens with a sultry, backward nose of tobacco leaf and autumn bonfire mingling with red fruit. The medium-bodied palate has a fluid entry, pliant tannins, and a keen thread of acidity, finishing pure and sapid. It has real structure for the cellar, but also drinks well now with beef bourguignon, roast quail, or a washed-rind cheese.