2013 Savigny Les Beaune Blanc

The 2013 Savigny-les-Beaune Village Blanc offers impressive intensity on the nose with touches of patisserie, almond and citrus fruit, very harmonious and gaining in vigor in the glass. The palate is well balanced, clean and pure with hints of white peach and tangerine, well-judged acidity and impressive poise toward the finish. Very fine - enjoy this over the next four or five years.||It was a philosophical Chisa that I met at Domaine Simon Bize this year. I mean, how much misfortune is enough, what with the untimely passing of Patrick and then witnessing the extirpation of your vines. The domaine lost 80% of the crop in a hail attack that lasted 45 minutes and flooded the cuverie with 10cm of water. Chisa describes it as a swimming pool. Then afterwards it was difficult to use tractors in the vineyard. What could you do? Since it was the end of July, she took her vacation, and returning at the end of August everything looked lost to the world. And yet when she toured the vineyard toward the end of September, she told me she was astonished at how nature had offered some kind of compensation with a small amount of quality fruit. “It was like magic,” she told me. The surviving fruit was cropped on October 3 and then over the following week, the wines bottled as I was arriving at the domaine at the end of November. One thing that was slightly different in 2013 is that they destemmed several of the Premier crus and the Grand cru. I only tasted three of the wines since they have so little to spare and they were all delicious, perhaps a little rustic but full of charm. I particularly enjoyed the Savigny-lès-Beaune Village Blanc that should give great pleasure over the next three to five years. Upon departing, after a brief discussion about the delights of Mosburger in Japan, I bid adieu and said how much I was looking forward to tasting the 2014s, which thankfully, offered a good, healthy crop. I think Chisa deserves several of those. eRobertParker.com.December, 2014