Domaine Chevrot "Sakura" Bourgogne Rosé, Burgundy, France 2024

FROM BOWLER WINES:

THE WINE: 100% Pinot Noir. The grapes for Rosé Sakura come from the village of Cheilly-les-Maranges in a plot just next to the domaine. Bunches are direct-pressed and placed in seven to ten year-old barrels for fermentation and aging. The length is remarkable, finishing on fresh cherry and toasted notes. Organic.

THE PRODUCER: The Chevrots have been making wine in Maranges since 1830, and today the winery is run by two brothers, Pablo and Vincent Chevrot. Their parents started bottling wines under the Domaine Chevrot name in the nineteen seventies and the family played a key role in Maranges becoming an appellation, which was finally granted in 1988. Today, Domaine Chevrot owns 18.5 hectare of vines; 50% pinot noir, 40% chardonnay, and ten percent aligoté in appellations of Maranges, Santenay, and the Hautes Côtes de Beaune. Their oldest plots were planted by the current winemakers’ grandfather and are up to 75 years old. The brothers, Pablo and Vincent have maintained the traditions of their parents but have built upon their success: starting with conversion of the vineyards to organic viticulture in 2008. Working the soil is important and they own two horses and are now ploughing five hectares by horse. Seeded cover crops are another important element that brings fertility to the soil, aerates and restructures the soil, and limits erosion. Different plant types bring different elements: grains for structure, beans and clover trap nitrogen from the air and it gathers in the roots, getting released back to the soil. And cruciferous plants, like mustard, bring minerals and aerate the soil. They use organic compost in the vineyards and a minimum of copper and sulfur treatments as needed to treat oidium and mildew. They are practicing biodynamics as well but are not certified.