Domaine Marguerite Carillon Savigny-Les Beaune Les Lavieres Premier Cru 2018

“This was all supposed to go to an uber-luxe restaurant, but they just canceled…want to taste it?” - the email read from a Burgundy broker – and we’re SURE glad we said yes. Because – get ready for it – we somehow snagged this delicious, classic, 91-point Burgundian pinot noir for 64% OFF! Please, don’t all bust your wallets out at once (or, actually, maybe do...this one’s going to go FAST).

Since 1954, the Domaine Marguerite Carillon has long been producing wine in the village of Meursault in the idyllic Côte de Beaune. More recently, the Helfrich family took ownership of the estate, replacing previously decade-plus-old barrels with ones no more than four years old, producing a much more modern, nuanced wine, laced with vanilla and wood undertones, than some of your classic old-school Burgundies.

Set in the picturesque valley right in between Beaune, Aloxe-Corton, and Pernand-Vergelesses, this Premier Cru Red Burgundy hails from a series of three parcels known as Les Lavières – named for the stone slabs found on the steep slopes here. The clay-limestone soils in this valley produce a straightforward, smooth, and earthy wine that is good on its own, good with food…just straight-up good. The site was made famous by Bouchard Pere & Fils, near the well-known Vergelesses and Talmettes vineyards, and following skin-on crushing, the wine was vinified in thermo-regulated open vats for 10 or so days. Afterward, they were vatted, punched down, and pumped over before going into French oak barrels to mature and evolve into the mineral, fresh finish you will want to linger over for a good while.

The aromas lead off with polished, barrel influences of Tahitian vanilla, espresso, and dark chocolate truffle. Over time, deep black cherry notes develop, with an alluring component of red plums. Sharp, woody accents of cedar and green peppercorns, too. In the mouth, red cherries and raspberries dance across the tongue, with sage, spearmint, and pomegranate carrying this modern Red Burgundy into a long and lustrous finish. And for UNDER $40 – a sippable and savable wine to enjoy for many years in the future – you’d be missing out if you didn’t add one (or two, or six) of these to your cart.