2008 Savigny Les Beaune La Dominode

Pavelot’s 2008 Savigny-les-Beaune La Dominode ushers in a day I never thought I’d witness, when their wine from this site trumps its iconic rendition from Bruno Clair. The aromas blow in like an ocean breeze, carrying saline, alkaline, iodine, and kelp-like intrigue allied to of narcissus and fresh plum and dark cherry with their distilled Doppelganger. The salvia-inducing enticement of multifarious mineral notes and marrow-rich meat stock as well as musky inner-mouth florality are experienced on a refined palate as if through a profound yet transparent pool of bright, ripe red fruits. Eloquently long, pure, and invigorating, this should remain a top-performer for at least 15 years. The Pavelot 2008s did not even begin their malos until July, and none had been bottled when I visited to taste them late last winter, but I tasted them – with the exception of a Narbantons Pavelots weren’t ready to show me – in final form. Hugues Pavelot insists that he and his father didn’t need to cull more than 5% of the fruit they harvested in either 2008 or 2007, and given the exciting quality of their 2008s, all that remains necessary to verify his claim is to count barrels. Assiduous greening of the rows was especially beneficial in 2008 for controlling water and thus vineyard humidity and rot, Pavelot maintains. Hail in this commune hit both Bourgogne and non-cru Savigny vineyards, but you would never know it to taste the corresponding wines at this address. This estate (like the best wines of Savigny in general) has long represented an under-appreciated source of outstanding value, but never more so than from 2008; and while the several 2007s I tasted pointed to a more pedestrian performance, they nevertheless confirmed Domaine Pavelot’s reliability. (Incidentally, 2008 is the inaugural vintage for an amazing Pavelot Corton-Charlemagne, about which I’ll publish notes on a later occasion.) Becky Wassserman Selections (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70

Good deep ruby-red. Medicinal black cherry and bitter chocolate on the ripe but reticent nose. At once silky and sappy, with noteworthy concentration and energy to its black fruit and licorice fla vors. Finishes broad, sweet and long, with the freshness of the vintage.