2023 Beaune Les Tuvilains
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Tasting Notes
Aromas of smoky berries, blood orange and spices introduce the 2023 Beaune 1er Cru Les Tuvilains, a medium to full-bodied, layered and youthfully structured wine built around chalky tannins. Like its 2022 predecessor, this is one of the more chunky wines in the range this year. David Croix's well-deserved reputation as one of the leading talents among his generation in the Côte de Beaune is founded on hard work in the vineyards, something I regularly witness in the Beaune premiers crus where I have the good fortune to have him as a neighbor. Soils are cultivated mechanically or by animal traction; canopies are hedged late and high or managed by "tressage" without cutting their apical shoots; harvesting privileges full physiological maturity; and in the winery, winemaking is classical, often retaining some stems, followed by élevage in barrels and, for some cuvées, foudres. Sensual and suave, the 2023s are a fine success at this address, with the Beaune Grèves taking the crown this year and standing out as a benchmark for the appellation.
Critic Scores
Average Score
Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy
Neal Martin, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2023 Beaune Tuvilains 1er Cru has an open nose with brambly red fruit and strawberry pastilles-a little tertiary in style. The palate is medium-bodied with soy-tinged red fruit, moderate depth and a slight attenuation toward the finish. Early-drinking. "The 2023 vintage is the largest since I started in 2005," David Croix tells me. "The first in which I produced the volume I'm legally allowed. The average is 50 hl/ha, so I am not at a level where it is being distilled. Once in a while, that feels good. The wines have an ease to them, especially on the clayey soils or at the bottom of the hill, but they're not just pretty wines, something that I have realized during barrel maturation. The crazy heat wave at harvest impacted the style of the wines as the sugar levels went up quickly. It was extreme, in a sense. We picked beginning on September 4 with one parcel, the main heart of the picking occurring between September 6-13. At 10 a.m., it was already 27°C. We only picked before midday, and we gained two degrees in alcohol during the week of picking. We had done some green harvesting, but I know people that did that, and the vines then compensated, so yields still ended up high. It was another year where I struggled with native yeasts and getting the sugars to start fermenting. Having higher pH makes things complicated. There were three cuvées where I could not get the fermentation going, so I am using a more scientific method of harnessing the yeasts in the vineyard, like a pied de cuve, so that the fermentation is ready to go. I think 2023 is a bit like 2017 but the heatwave imparts more concentration and extract. The wines have really been changing but, at the moment, I only see two cuvées that might need a longer barrel maturation."
Picked on 12th September at a slightly higher alcohol level than the others. Mid crimson, attractive enough but more neutral. No great concentration. Smooth and supple at the finish, taken from a barrel where the oak has left its trace,