2020 Domaine Tollot Beaut Chorey-Les Beaune, Burgundy, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

Chorey-les-Beaune lies on the plains below the Côte d'Or escarpment with 336 acres almost exclusively planted with Pinot Noir. Initially, the Tollot family owned vines only in Chorey, but successive generations made small acquisitions in Savigny-lès-Beaune, Aloxe-Corton, and Beaune for a current total of 60 acres.

Most of the wine grown in Chorey-les-Beaune is bottled as Côte de Beaune-Villages, a catchall appellation that allows several villages to blend their red wines. Tollot-Beaut is proud of their village and produces this classic example from vines planted between 1992 and 1998. The wine spent 18 months in 25% new Burgundian pièce.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The Tollot family represents a long lineage of winegrowers dating back to the late 1880s when François Tollot began planting vineyards in Chorey-les-Beaune. His son, Alexandre Tollot, continued in his father’s footsteps and married Aurélie Beaut. In 1921, Tollot-Beaut became one of the first to bottle their wines under the domaine and started exporting their wines to the U.S. shortly thereafter. Today, cousins Nathalie, Jean-Paul, and Olivier Tollot are in charge. The wines of Tollot-Beaut are well-known for their serious but pleasing style across a range of appellations from Bourgogne to Grand Cru.

The Tollot-Beaut cellar is in the center of Chorey-les-Beaune on the rue Alexandre Tollot, named after Nathalie’s great grandfather who was once the Mayor of Chorey. Parts of the meticulously kept cellar are over 250 years old. Pinot Noir is almost entirely de-stemmed. The wines of Tollot-Beaut were once made with more new oak but in recent years the oak influence has become subtler. Village and regional wines receive about 20% new oak while the Grand Crus receive about 60% new oak.