Michel Gay - Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Vergelesses 2018

Add to Wish List

Savigny-lès-Beaune wine is produced in the commune of Savigny-lès-Beaune in Côte de Beaune of Burgundy. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Savigny-lès-Beaune may be used for red and white wine with respectively Pinot noir and Chardonnay as the main grape variety. The name of the appellation is sometimes written simply as Savigny, without the -lès-Beaune suffix. The production consists of slightly over 85 per cent red wine, and slightly less than 15 per cent white wine. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within Savigny-lès-Beaune.

In 2008, there was 347.82 hectares (859.5 acres) of vineyard surface in production for Savigny-lès-Beaune wine at village and Premier Cru level, and 13,359 hectoliter of wine was produced, of which 11,443 hectoliter red wine and 1,916 hectoliter white wine. Some 249.96 hectares (617.7 acres) of this area was used for the red wines in 2007. The total amount produced corresponds to almost 1.8 million bottles, of which slightly over 1.5 million bottles of red wine and a little over 250,000 bottles of white wine.

For white wines, the AOC regulations allow both Chardonnay and Pinot blanc to be used, but most wines are 100% Chardonnay. The AOC regulations also allow up to 15 per cent total of Chardonnay, Pinot blanc and Pinot gris as accessory grapes in the red wines, but this is not very often practiced. The allowed base yield is 40 hectoliter per hectare of red wine and 45 hectoliter per hectare for white wine. The grapes must reach a maturity of at least 10.5 per cent potential alcohol for village-level red wine, 11.0 per cent for village-level white wine and Premier Cru red wine, and 11.5 per cent for Premier Cru white wine.

Michel Gay Description

This small estate in the Cote de Beaune is comprised of vines that average more than 40 years old with many parcels coming in over 60 years of age. Holdings include the always exceptional Chorey‐les‐Beaune, Aloxe‐Corton, Savigny‐les‐Beaune 1er Crus Serpentières and Vergelesses, three premier crus in Beaune, Toussaints, Coucherias, and Greves, as well as a small plot of Corton in the Renardes vineyard. Recently, Sébastien planted a very small parcel in Coucherias to Chardonnay that has yielded very promising results.

Michel Gay began in 1992 after he and his brother split up their century old family estate and decided to go it alone. Beginning with a meager 6.5 hectares in ’92, the domaine has grown a bit to just over 10 hectares today. In 2000, the fifth generation winemaker, Sébastien Gay returned to the domaine following his studies in Beaune and immediately set about improving things.

The first thing Sébastien did was eliminate all herbicides in the vineyards and convert to an organic approach. He lives in his vineyards and tends each vine with exacting detail. The results were immediately evident with some sensational 2003’s and with each successive vintage the quality continues to improve. In 2008, Sébastien invested in the domaine’s first sorting table and the quality again was reflected in beautifully balanced wines that year. He has since added a second sorting table and now the harvest sees the two tables in action with a dozen people meticulously sorting each bunch and berry to ensure only the top quality fruit makes the grade. In addition to severe sorting at harvest, Sébastien has shown that he will only bottle the wines he deems up to his family name’s standard and anything that is not is sold to négociants.

In the past decade, since Sébastien Gay has taken over his family domaine, we’ve seen an incredible rise in quality thanks to his efforts both in the vineyards and the winery. Today, the winery boasts a lineup of wines that are simply extraordinary.