The 2012 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Les Serpentieres is Javillier’s sole red premier cru. It has a pleasant bouquet of raspberry preserve and orange blossom that opens nicely in the glass, though it does not aspire to great complexity. The palate is fresh and clean with good acidity. The tannins feel firm and slightly chalky in the mouth, the finish tightly wound and demonstrating fine minerality if not the persistency one might have discerned in say, 2009 or 2010. Still, this should become a very respectable, and yet a delicious Savigny-les-Beaune. Patrick Javillier was busy down in his Meursault winery when I called in at the property that was established by Raymond Javillier after the war, when he set about acquiring parcels of vine around the village. Yet the main focus of the business was in purchasing fruit from courtiers. Patrick himself vinified his first wine in 1974 after completing his winemaking diploma at the University of Burgundy and steadily built up a raft of long-term contracts, tending holdings through fermage agreements. Since 2008, his daughter Marion has looked after and vinified the red wines and it was clear that Patrick takes a great deal of pride in them. I have been following Javillier’s wines for a number of years now. Here is a man determined to transcend the limitations of possessing propitious terroirs, but few premier and grand cru vines. How does he overcome them? Well, simply by straightforward winemaking tenets: complete de-stemming for the reds, remaining faithful to his trusty old Vaslin press (which was recuperating in the corner after the vintage), skillful use of new oak and by assiduously blending small parcels whose final wine is often more than a sum of its parts. Patrick told me that he commenced picking on September 12 with potential alcohol levels coming in between 12.0 and 12.9 degrees. These wines often represent outstanding value and we commence with his two generic whites that offer outstanding value year after year. Importer: A Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 01 33 1 42 55 42 93