Domaine Desvignes Givry 1er Cru La Grande Berge 2023

Variety: Pinot Noir
Country Region: France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise
Appellation: Givry Premier Cru

La Grande Berge adjoins Clos du Vernoy to the rear and occupies the entire slope of the hill behind the winery in Poncey. The Desvigne’s holding amounts to 1.9 ha and the soil above the mother rock is more meagre here and the site gives ripe more solar wines. Average age of vines around 30 years old and about 8000 bottles produced in a good vintage.

Again quite sumptuous creamy edged aromas with prickly, hedgerow herbal notes. Good definition of chalky, limestone mineral. A little meatier, saucisson notes. Has more volume on palate, but with lovely chalky mineral bite. Energy and length.

Review for the 2020 vintage (no reviews yet for 2023):
'The 2020 Givry 1er Cru La Grande Berge unwinds in the glass with aromas of rich berries, loamy soil, licorice, spices and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, it's one of the tauter, more structured wines in the range, concluding with a mineral finish. This will merit at least a little patience.'
92+ points, William Kelley, The Wine Advocate, August 2022.

‘The young Gautier Desvignes continues his rapid ascent at this 11-hectare Givry estate, and his 2020 portfolio is a strong follow-up to his lovely set of 2019s. In the vineyards, he's moving away from chemical products, cultivating the soil and using manure instead of synthetic fertilizers. In the cellar, he's refining his barrel program, working with barrels from above all Rousseau, as well as Taransaud and Rémond, complemented by used Chassin barrels. Maturation has been extended, and bottling is, since 2019, carried out by a superior contractor, with wines that require it now seeing crossflow filtration rather than more aggressive alternatives. New glass bottles and denser corks complete the picture. Elegant, sumptuous reds and bright, chiseled whites are the order of the day, and everything reviewed here comes warmly recommended. As Desvignes refines his barrel program (I suspect that even lighter toasts would deliver even more interesting results) and his vineyard work improves year on year, I am confident that he will emerge as one of the leading lights of the Côte Chalonnaise.’
William Kelley, The Wine Advocate, August 2022.

Based in Givry, Domaine Desvignes was established in 1870 and has cellars dating back to the 17th century. Gautier Desvignes is the fifth generation of his family to run the domaine, having taken over in 2016. He represents a new generation of winemakers in Burgundy who have honed their craft in other regions and countries, bringing new ideas to their family domaines. Having previously worked in Oregon, Gautier is now establishing Domaine Desvignes as one of the leading producers in Givry.

Like many producers in the Côte Chalonnaise, Domaine Desvignes used to sell their fruit to big négociants in the Côte d’Or. Historically, their Pinot Noir clones were selected for quantity over quality. Before agreeing to take over from his father, Gautier insisted that the domaine be replanted with Pinot Fin clones, which produce lower yields of small berries, resulting in concentrated, high-quality fruit. Sustainability is also a key part of Gautier’s philosophy. He has proven that by investing energy into the vineyard, avoiding chemicals and adapting vinification to best express the grape variety and site, Givry can produce precise, elegant wines rather than the ‘rustic’ and tannic style it was previously known for.

Although white wines represent just under 20% of Givry’s production, they are gaining popularity thanks to their quality and affordability. Gautier produces a Givry Village Blanc ‘En Chenèves’, which is fermented and aged in used 400-litre barrels to better integrate the oak. The result is a rounded wine defined by stone fruit character and lively acidity (a hallmark of the clay-limestone soils to the south of the Givry appellation).

Gauthier’s Givry Rouge comprises a selection of parcels from across the village, each vinified separately in used oak barrels for 12 months before being blended and aged for an additional four months in tank. The resulting wine has a nose typical of Givry with ripe, dark fruit aromas, while the palate shows good concentration and a vibrant finish. Gauthier’s 1er Cru ‘Clos Charlé’ is from a parcel towards the north of Givry planted on soils rich in iron oxide, ideally suited to Pinot Noir. It produces very expressive wines with great depth of flavour. The ‘Champ La Dame’ is 100% destemmed and aged for 12 months in oak, offering a seriously smart Givry with great freshness and crunchy fruit character. The 1er Cru ‘Les Ozymandias’ is Gautier’s ode to his daughter, born in 2022, and takes its name from a Percy Bysshe Shelley poem. It blends fruit from two small 1er Cru plots (‘Le Vernoy’ and ‘Crémillons’) and has the linear precision that runs through all the Domaine Desvignes wines.