Richer and fleshier than the finer-boned Clos des Aigrots, the 2019 Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves offers up notes of plums and raspberries mingled with violets, sweet soil tones and grilled squab. Medium to full-bodied, layered and enveloping, it's elegantly gourmand, with a voluminous core of fruit framed by powdery tannins.

The 2019 Beaune Grèves 1er Cru comes from the oldest vines at the Domaine, 98 years old, that produced small yields according to Frédéric Lafarge. It has a beautiful, very pure kirsch and crushed strawberry nose laced with orange pith. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy red berry fruit that hide the structure underneath. More saline than Lafarge’s other cuvées it is very grippy on the finish. Excellent.

98-year-old, beautifully balanced vines – their oldest. Very low yield in 2019. Usually 30 hl/ha! A quarter has been pulled out, because of the effects of the 2012 hail, and planted with mass selection from the domaine. They will blend the two eventually but the new vines are not yet fully in production. Cask sample. Very dramatically concentrated nose. Rich and exotic. Powerful. Spiced Belgian biscuity (speculoos) aromas. (JR)