Beaune 1er Cru “Les Grèves” Reviews

This opulent, richly concentrated Pinot Noir balances glossy cassis and blackberry flavors against a sturdy frame of tannins and seductive whiffs of sauvage. Cellar until 2024 at least; the wine should improve and gain perfume and complexity well through 2035 and hold further still. Cellar Selection.

This starts out sleek, evoking macerated cherry, berry, mineral and tobacco flavors. The dense tannins exert themselves on the finish, which is long and complex. Fine balance, but this needs time. Best from 2024 through 2037. 409 cases made, 36 cases imported. — BS

A structured wine that is also full of ripe fruit. Its red-berry fruits are encased in the tannins that still need to soften. The wine will be generous, full of berry flavors and with a dense texture.

Bright medium red. Aromas of redcurrant, cherry and spices. Offers more energy and definition than the Clos du Roi, with higher-pitched flavors of spices and red fruits. A juicy Beaune wine with a touch of youthful bitterness on the back end, but sound acids and tannins give grip to the finish.

Clean and focused, showing black cherry, toast and spice aromas and flavors. The tannins are firm and integrated as this cruises to a lingering, spicy aftertaste. 

A small wine with graceful power in its tannins, this is focused more on earthy vegetal and mineral character than on any direct fruitiness. The flavors last, perfumed with spice. Pour it with something fatty, like duck rillettes. 

Rich and smoky, featuring cherry, strawberry and spice flavors. Picks up a chalky, savory quality as the finish plays out. Best from 2017 through 2028. 

–BS