DOMAINE TOLLOT-BEAUT Chorey-les-Beaune

One of the select group of estates that pioneered domaine bottling back in the 1930s, Tollot-Beaut is located in the little village of Chorey, a short distance north of Beaune. The domaine is fronted by Natalie Tollot, but behind the scenes there is her father, uncle and an array of cousins, who represent the fourth and fifth generations of the family to make wine in Chorey. They own various well-sited parcels in Chorey itself, Beaune, Aloxe Corton and Savigny, including some plots in Corton-Bressandes, Corton & Corton-Charlemagne, a total of 24 hectares. There is also an extremely useful Bourgogne Rouge. The average vine age is old, ranging from 1928 to 2000. The vineyards are ploughed, with no use of fertilisers, and harvesting is by hand, with very light handling of the grapes and full destemming prior to a 10-12 day fermentation.

The domaine used to carry a reputation for using fairly high percentages of new oak, but this is certainly not the case now, with up to 20% of new wood for the Bourgogne and the ‘village’ wines, rising to around 50-60% for the Grands Crus, by no means excessive. The reds are characteristically marked by a glossy charm, with bright, lifted notes of red and black cherry, and great clarity and intensity. They offer much pleasure when young, but cellar beautifully. The Grands Crus sit very much at Burgundy’s top table, but it is the wines from the relatively poorly known Chorey, and the Bourgogne, that offer the real value here.