2022 Jean-Marc Pavelot La Dominode 1er Cru, Burgundy

The 2022 Savigny-lès-Beaune La Dominode 1er Cru, one of Jean-Hague Pavelot's favorite cuvées this year, has a generous bouquet of black plum, raspberry, and a touch of pressed white flowers emerging with time. Very well-defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly edgier tannins than other Premier Crus - maybe a bit more angular at the moment, yet that lends plenty of tension towards the finish that fans out beautifully. Drink: 2025 - 2040.

91-93 points Neal Martin, Vinous Nov 2023

This is at once the spiciest and the most floral-suffused nose in the range with its ripe yet ultra-fresh nose of various dark berries, anise and newly turned earth scents. The mouthfeel is also intriguing as it combines excellent density with an appealing sleekness that carries over to the mineral-driven, powerful and compact finale that is wonderfully persistent if very clearly built-to-age. This is almost always Pavelot's best wine and it is highly likely to be so in 2022 as well. Drink 2034+ Sweet Spot-Outstanding!

94 points Burghound, April 2024

Jean Marc Pavelot’s La Dominode is one of those insider Burgundy wines that quietly earns lifelong followers. Domaine Pavelot, based in Savigny lès Beaune, has been family run for generations and is revered for producing deeply authentic Pinot Noir that speaks clearly of place rather than cellar trickery. La Dominode is the estate’s flagship Premier Cru, a historic vineyard once owned by the monks of Vergy, planted on limestone rich soils that give the wine both structure and remarkable elegance. In the hands of the Pavelot family, it consistently delivers Grand Cru level complexity at a fraction of the price.

The 2022 vintage is beautifully layered and expressive. Dark cherry, wild raspberry and red plum notes unfold alongside dried rose petals, forest floor and subtle spice. There is a wonderful savoury edge beginning to emerge, bringing hints of tea leaf, truffle and crushed herbs beneath the vibrant fruit. The texture feels silky yet quietly powerful, with fine tannins and fresh acidity carrying the wine through a long, mineral finish. It captures that perfect balance between generosity and tension that makes great Burgundy so compelling.

This deserves thoughtful food and a little patience in the glass. Roast duck with cherries would be sensational, though it would also shine beside mushroom risotto, herb crusted pork or slow roasted quail. As the evening rolls on, more earthy and floral nuances begin to emerge, making every glass a little more captivating than the last. Drinking beautifully with a decant now, though the structure and balance suggest another decade or more of graceful evolution ahead.