Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru “Les Fournières” 2020 – Domaine Tollot-Beaut

Domaine Tollot-Beaut, located in Chorey-lès-Beaune, was started in 1880 by François Tollot. The fifth generation of the family, Nathalie Tollot and her di lei two cousins, Olivier and Jean-Paul, now oversee the domaine. Tollot-Beaut was among the first producers in the Côte d’Or to start bottling its wines at the domaine, in 1921. They own a total of 24 hectares across four communes: Chorey-lès-Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Beaune and Aloxe-Corton. Their wines range from Bourgogne through to Grand Cru. They own eight hectares in Chorey-Lès-Beaune, which is by far their largest holding, and are the proud owners of two monopoles, Savigny-lès-Beaune ‘Champs Chevrey’ and Chorey-lès-Beaune ‘Pièce du Chapitre’. They also have almost a hectare of Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru. The vineyards are plowed and they practice ‘la lutte raisonnée’. With some of their older vines dating back as far as 1928, the grapes are hand-picked. All their Pinot Noir is destemmed and fermented in stainless-steel tanks. Fermentation typically lasts for 10 to 12 days and pigéage takes place twice a day. Over the years, the use of oak has become much subtler, intended to season the wines and amplify their delicate fruit character. The wines typically stay in barrel for 16 to 18 months with up to 20% new oak used for the village and regional wines and 50% new oak for the Grand Crus. Their cellars are cooler than most in Burgundy after they installed an air-conditioning system 20 years ago; they keep the temperature at 14 ° C, whereas it used to be 18 ° C. This lower temperature helps preserve the fresh fruit that characterises these wines.