ROBERT AMPEAU & FILS SAVIGNY LES BEAUNE 1989

Domaine Ampeau was born at the turn of the 20th century and became famous under Robert Ampeau for the sublime quality of his whites from Meursault and Puligny, and sumptuous reds from Volnay-Santenots. Since Robert passed away in 2004 his son Michel has been in sole charge and that is unlikely to change, as he has never married or had children and has no brothers or sisters. An interesting part of the Ampeau sales strategy is that they are one of very few domaines to hold back their wines until they are somewhat ready to drink (usually at least 5 years). This is because the wines are made with ageability as a top priority, so while his reds can be very tannic early in life, they open up beautifully after a few years in bottle. Vinification follows traditional lines, with the red wines being fermented in concrete tanks before being transferred to oak barrels – only 10% of which are new.