2019 Domaine Jean-Marc Pavelot Aux Guettes Premier Cru, Savigny-Les-Beaune

On a good slope, Les Guettes is the Pavelots’ highest 1er cru plot. Very limestone, very little top soil. Due south with low yields. Sound, even purple, with a rather strict nose. Fruit starts gently then really kicks on, this is in liqueur cherry and raspberry mode, but still balanced. Fair length.’ 

89-92 points Jasper Morris insideburgundy.com June 2020

Here too there is a mentholated top note present on the more sauvage and forest floor nuanced aromas of red and dark currant. I very much like the sense of underlying tension suffusing the even more mineral-driven middle weight flavors that coat the palate with dry extract that buffers the very firm tannic spine shaping the beautifully long finale. This serious, austere and compact effort is quite tightly wound and a wine that is unlikely to make for especially interesting drinking young; then again, textbook Guettes rarely does. Sweet spot Outstanding

“Hugues Pavelot noted that 2019 "gave us excellent raw materials that were ripe, clean and with good acidities. We picked from the 11th of September and while we could pick quickly because the fruit was so clean, we unfortunately could also pick quickly because there wasn't very much fruit as the average yields were only 30 hl/ha. Potential alcohols were strong, especially for Savigny, as they ranged from 13.5 to 14%. We had no trouble with the vinifications though it was necessary to watch them carefully as the yeast gobbled up the sugars very quickly. As such, I didn't employ what I would call a light extraction strategy though it certainly wasn't aggressive either. As to the results, I am extremely happy with the wines as they're very serious with excellent densities and structures without any excesses. They are definitely more classic than their 2018 counterparts and wines that should age for as long as anyone might reasonably want them to." As is often the case, I found the quality of the Pavelot 2019s to be very good to excellent and these are wines to consider and particularly so as they generally offer very fine price/value.

Pavelot has been one of my go-to names in Savigny-lès-Beaune for several years now. They have consistently produced excellent Savignys

Neal Martin vinous.comJan 2020