Guilbert Gillet Aloxe-Corton Premier Cru Les Valozieres 2 bts set 750ml

Guilbert Gillet Aloxe-Corton Premier Cru Les Valozieres 2020 *1

Guilbert Gillet Aloxe-Corton Premier Cru Les Valozieres 2021 *1

The producer, who began winemaking with the 2020 vintage, is located near National Route 74, which connects Dijon and Beaune. Benjamin Guilbert, born in 1991, honed his winemaking skills after finishing his studies at esteemed establishments such as Domaine de Lambrays, Domaine de Montille, E. Guigal, Trimbach, and Château Haut Brion. He also had interactions with Jacky Truchot from Morey-Saint-Denis, learning a great deal about grape cultivation and winemaking from him, thus modeling his wine style after Truchot. In March 2020, Benjamin had the opportunity to purchase a small winery and about 0.2 hectares of vineyard in Savigny-les-Beaune, starting to produce his own domaine wines and also beginning to make négociant wines with purchased grapes from Aloxe-Corton, Pommard, and premier cru vineyards in Morey-Saint-Denis. By 2021 and 2022, he gradually acquired more land, owning a total of 3.6 hectares by 2023. Unlike other domains that have been passed down through generations, he started from scratch in 2020 when land and building prices were high, leading to higher wine prices, but he aims to make wines that justify these costs.

The vineyards are cultivated biologically without the use of heavy tractors to avoid stressing the soil, instead using horses and manual labor. After harvest, the grapes are meticulously sorted twice. The whites undergo alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks, followed by light bâtonnage and 18 months of aging exclusively in used barrels. The reds are 100% destemmed, undergo alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks, and are aged for 18 months in used barrels with regular remontage, bottled unfiltered and without fining. Bottling is done using a traditional method directly from the barrels with a two-spout faucet, allowing only about 900 bottles per day, as opposed to around 20,000 bottles possible with conventional mechanical bottling. This process is very time-consuming and labor-intensive as he follows traditional winemaking practices with minimal intervention in both winemaking and bottling, driven by a strong belief in maintaining the old ways.