Jane Eyre Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesse 2022
Jane Eyre Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Aux Vergelesse
Region: Burgundy, France
Vintage: 2022
Bottle size: 75cl
Grape: Pinot Noir
ABV: 13.5%
This is a highly-perfumed wine that offers a mix of delicate fruit aromas and spicy undertones, with a brambly edge. On the palate, a backbone of refreshing acidity and fine but firm tannins provide balance and structure.
The Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er cru Aux Vergelesses (commonly called Savigny Vergelesses) is one of the best 1er crus from Savigny-lès-Beaune. The vineyard for this wine is situated above the Ile de Vergelesses, with Mont Blanc to the east, on a fairly steep slope. Soils comprise of argilo calcareous marl, which provide excellent drainage and the vines are between 25 and 50 years old.
Small parcels of low-yielding fruit were picked by hand and de-stemmed. Indigenous yeast fermentation took place in stainless-steel tanks where a combination of gentle pump overs and punch downs were employed as needed. The wine was matured in 100% French oak barriques, around 20% of which were new, and then racked once to tank before bottling, without undergoing fining or filtration.
With a network of grower friendships that comes from living in Burgundy, Jane secures parcels of fruit that showcase the best of the different appellations of the Côte d'Or. The Pinot Noir is from 'Les Corbeaux', a Premier Cru vineyard at the northern end of the Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Cru slope. ‘Les Corbeaux’ is located next to Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru and as such, is known for producing complex and powerful wines. The vines are planted on limestone-clay soils and are over 50 years old, producing low yields of grapes packed full of flavour and very expressive of the unique terroir here.
Originally from Melbourne, Jane Eyre was previously a hairdresser in one of the city’s top salons before she “fell in love” with Burgundy while doing work experience at Domaine Chevrot in 1998. She studied winemaking at Charles Sturt University in Australia and worked vintages at Cullen in the Margaret River, as well as Felton Road and Ata Rangi in New Zealand. She returned to Europe in 2003. Following a three-month spell with Ernie Loosen in the Mosel, she subsequently made Burgundy her home, working first at Domaine des Comtes Lafon and then as assistant winemaker at Domaine Newman. She has gradually developed her own négociant business since 2011 and was delighted to move from the rented space she shared with Dominique Lafon into her own premises in Cissey just before the 2021 harvest. In the 2021 edition of Le Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France, Jane Eyre was awarded two stars, one of only 26 producers in the whole of France to be recognised at this level. She was also named ‘Négociant of the Year’ in the Revue des Vins de France 2021, the first woman to be awarded the title. Both accolades are a phenomenal achievement for a relative newcomer to Burgundy.