JEAN-CHARLES FAGOT Santenay 1er Cru 'Les Gravieres' 2022 Bottle (los)

Description

Jean Charles Fagot is an extraordinary character with wide interests and talents. He is a gifted musician and plays the drums in a rock band made up of vignerons and restauranteurs. He is also the proprietor of the delightful ‘Auberge du Vieux Vigneron’ brasserie in Corpeau where he can be found entertaining his customers most evenings, and a broad range of his wines are also available there to explore and enjoy. His vineyard holdings of three hectares are mainly based around Corpeau and two particular highlights are his Bourgogne Blanc Cote d’Or ‘Les Champs Huillier’ and his energetic Bourgogne Aligoté. He also makes tiny quantities of well made Puligny ‘village’ and 1er Cru ‘Hameau de Blagny’. He augments his production with some neighbours’ grapes that he buys and vinifies with the same attention to detail.

On his estate vineyards, Jean-Charles employs lutte raisonée, a method of growing in which chemical intervention is employed only when necessary. The wines are vinified traditionally and naturally, utilizing oak foudres and 12-14 month long aging periods in the Fagot cellars.

Jean-Charles Fagot brings a multi-generational winemaking heritage to his work in the Côte de Beaune, with a particular focus on traditional methods and the expression of individual vineyard sites. His wines are known for their clarity, structure, and balance.

The Les Gravières’ parcel lies on well-draining, stony claylimestone soils, facing southeast—an ideal microclimate for fully ripening Pinot Noir while preserving acidity. The vines average 35 years in age and are farmed sustainably, with all harvesting done by hand

This Santenay 1er Cru ‘Les Gravières’ 2022 is drawn from one of the commune’s most prized Premier Cru sites, producing a wine that is both expressive and age-worthy.
Pure red berry fruit, subtle florals, and hints of spice and earth with fine tannins revealing an elegant mouthfeel and persistent finish. A fine example of 1er Cru Santenay, it offers both accessibility in youth and the potential to evolve beautifully.


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ABOUT JEAN-CHARLES FAGOT
Jean-Charles Fagot is a charismatic vigneron of the Côte de Beaune whose wines combine traditional craft with lively personality. He farms roughly three hectares centred on Corpeau and supplements his production with carefully chosen grapes from neighbouring growers, vinifying everything to his exacting standards. Key bottlings include a Bourgogne Blanc Cote d’Or Les Champs Huillier and a spirited Bourgogne Aligoté, while very small parcels yield Puligny-Montrachet village and the 1er Cru Hameau de Blagny when vintage and purchase opportunities allow.

In the vineyard Fagot follows lutte raisonnée, intervening with chemical treatments only when necessary to protect vine health. Canopy management, green harvesting when required and selective hand picking are routine, aimed at achieving balanced ripeness and concentration. His parcels are tended with respect for soil life and biodiversity so that each plot can express its particular minerality and textural nuance.

Vinification is traditional, natural and hands on. Whites are gently pressed and fermented with attention to preserving varietal purity. Fagot uses a combination of large oak foudres and smaller barrels for élevage, typically ageing wines for twelve to fourteen months to develop texture and integrate lees influence without overwhelming primary fruit. He adapts élevage choices to the character of each parcel and vintage, favouring subtle oak support rather than dominant wood signatures. When he buys fruit from neighbours it receives the same careful sorting and cellar treatment as estate fruit.

Stylistically his wines are noted for clarity, structural poise and an engaging balance of energy and roundness. The Bourgogne Aligoté is lively and precise, the Bourgogne Blanc shows floral lift, citrus and saline minerality, and the Puligny examples—rare and small in quantity—offer the refined depth and ageing potential expected from the commune.

Beyond winemaking Jean-Charles is a gifted musician and proprietor of the Auberge du Vieux Vigneron brasserie in Corpeau, where he often entertains guests and pours his wines. That conviviality, together with multi-generational knowhow and meticulous cellarcraft, gives his bottlings both character and a genuine sense of place.