It’s creamy and ripe in 2019, with a refreshing rainwater clarity perfumed by fresh meadow herbs. The ripeness shows in notes of yellow plum and oranges, even as the wine maintains a delicious taut briskness.\n \n Producer Information\n \n Domaine de Bellene is a wine estate founded by well-respected Burgundy winemaker Nicolas Potel in Beaune in 2005, following the acquisition of his eponymous négoce firm by the Cottin brothers of négociant house Labouré-Roi. It has plots in nine different premier cru vineyards spread across the appellations of Beaune, Savigny-lès-Beaune and Vosne-Romanée. The focus is on the cultivation of very old vines, with the domaine's oldest 100-plus year-old vines located in the Premier Cru climat of Les Grèves. Nicolas Potel started out as a négociant in 1996, bottling wines under his own name to much critical praise. In 2004, the Cottin brothers of Labouré-Roi acquired the business and Potel remained in charge until 2009. By this point, Potel had already purchased his own vineyards from the former Domaine Carementrant in Beaune, bottling them under the Domaine Nicolas Potel label. In 2008, this label was rebranded as Domaine de Bellene, which Nicolas Potel now runs alongside his Maison Roche de Bellene négociant business. Domaine de Bellene has a total of 24 hectares (60 acres) of vineyards situated in Beaune, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Saint-Romain, Santenay, Volnay and Vosne-Romanée. Pinot Noir dominates the domaine's portfolio of predominantly vieilles vignes (old vines) premier cru, village-level and regional wines. Although not as extensive as the reds, Domaine de Bellene's white wine portfolio covers numerous Chardonnay sites, including Meursault, the Beaune Premier Cru Les Perrières, Saint-Romain and Santenay. Several labels are from single-plot, lieu-dit vineyards, albeit at village level. A Bourgogne Aligote is also produced. The domaine farms its vines organically and the winery is housed in a 16th Century building in central Beaune. Harvest is carried out by hand and vinification is kept as natural as possible with the use of indigenous yeasts and without the addition of sugar, acids, nutrients or enzymes. Its wine bottles, too, are designed to reduce the domaine's carbon footprint – the bottles are lighter, sealed with wax, rather than metal, and are labeled with recycled paper.
