In Old French, “Grèves” referred to sandy soil that was well adapted to viticulture. The 30-hectare `Les Grèves` vineyard is assuredly one of Beaune’s best-known Premiers Crus and is located on an east-facing slope, with 0.88 hectares under vine. Soils here consist of stone and sand which retain both good levels of heat and moisture over the crucial growing season. The vines are 70 years old on average and are pruned using the Guyot system, producing yields of around 29 hectolitres per hectare.

2020 in Burgundy was characterised by hot and dry conditions, resulting in an early harvest that took place on the 25th August. After a mild spring, temperatures climbed and then remained consistently warm throughout the majority of the summer months, greatly reducing any risk of disease in the vineyard. Unfortunately, with their characteristically thin skins, a portion of the Pinot Noir grapes were affected by sunburn and had to be removed before harvest. However, those that were left were of superb quality, with high colour and aromatic intensity. Grégory Patriat is excited by the potential of the 2020s: “Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential".

The hand-harvested grapes were carefully sorted at the vineyard and transferred into small, perforated boxes. Upon arrival at the winery, they underwent a second selection process to ensure that only those in pristine condition were used. After sorting, 50% of the bunches were destemmed and placed in vats to be pressed by gravity, without any crushing. A 25-day maceration on the skins followed, including six days at a cold 12°C, to extract the maximum amount of flavours and aromatics. Fermentation took place, using indigenous yeasts, with two punch downs to further extract flavour and tannins and with no addition of sulphur. The wine was then racked to oak, 30% of which was new, to be aged for 11months. Bottling took place in September 2021.