2019 Jean-Claude Bachelet Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Derriere La Tour Rouge

2019 Jean-Claude Bachelet Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Derriere La Tour Rouge

2019 Jean-Claude Bachelet Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Derriere La Tour Rouge Shedding a touch of youthful reduction to reveal aromas of plums, warm spices, rose petals and forest floor, the 2019 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Derrière La Tour is medium to full-bodied, concentrated and lively, its deep core of fruit framed by powdery tannins.

Derrière la Tour is a Premier Cru climat of the Saint-Aubin appellation. It produces red wines from Pinot Noir.

Saint-Aubin’s Premier Cru vineyards are divided into two sections. The first group lie to the southwest of Gamay village, towards Saint-Aubin parish itself. The second group are found to the southeast, towards Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet.

The 1.9 hectare (4.7 acre) Derrière la Tour falls into the first of those categories (although it is only a few hundred metres from the westernmost vineyards of the latter). It is located immediately northwest of Gamay, on a gentle shoulder of the hillside with orientation from southwest to southeast.

It is bordered to the west by the En Créot climat that marks the start of the south-facing slopes of the En Vermarain valley (in which the Bas de Vermarain à l’Est vineyard lies further west up the valley).

Derrière la Tour means “behind the tower” and old fortified tower does indeed lie in Gamay village, underneath the vineyard.