Ladoix Premier Cru Les Gréchons 2019, Famille Carabello-Baum: tasting note

Ladoix? Admit it, you have driven straight through it… And yet the first village of the Côte de Beaune, coming from the north, is well worth a quick look… or a quick sip! Especially when it comes to a white Premier Cru, Les Gréchons, from 2019.

The climat

Les Gréchons is a Ladoix Premier Cru planted with Chardonnay, on the slopes rising towards the Corton hill. Marl and limestone soils, a south-east exposure: the ideal profile for a white with some backbone. A detail for the curious: on the neighbouring hill, they make… Corton-Charlemagne. Good neighbours set standards!

The estate

Behind the label is the Carabello-Baum family, owners of Château de Pommard since 2014. Beyond the château's own wines, the family bottles a range of around thirty Burgundies under its own name, from regional Bourgogne to Grand Cru. This Ladoix Les Gréchons is one of them.

The vintage

2019 began with frost in April, then a very dry summer that cut yields. Little wine, then, but good quality: at the time, producers praised balanced wines with lovely freshness, in both white and red.

On the nose

A white that is all about fruit: white fruit, and a delicate hint of peach leaf, both green and fragrant, that brings instant freshness. A clean, inviting nose that makes you want to taste straight away.

On the palate

The attack is frank, driven by pronounced acidity… yet beautifully balanced: it gives the wine tension without ever turning sharp. The fresh fruit is very present, bright and vivid. And then there is the length… outstanding! The kind of finish that makes you put the glass down and wait, in silence, for it to fade. (It takes its time.)

It is everything you hope for from a successful 2019: a vintage of small yields that kept its freshness.

Verdict

Tasted in Beaune, in the cellars of the house of Patriarche, during an exceptional tasting. My score: 18/20. A Ladoix Premier Cru with the stature of a much grander wine: tension, fruit and length. Proof, if any were needed, that Ladoix deserves a stop! As for ageing, allow 7 to 10 years: it is delicious now, with some fine years still ahead.

The pairing? Truffle, no question. Truffle pasta, or a gratin with truffle cream: the richness of the cream and the perfume of the truffle find the perfect counterpoint in the wine's acidity.

Have you tasted it? Tell me what you thought, I read every message. Ciao ciao!