What We're Drinking: Remi Rollin, Pernand Vergelesses, 2022

Good red Burgundy does not have to break the bank. There is some brilliant value to be found not far from the celebrated villages of the Côte d’Or, on the less well exposed sites or cooler side valleys that have benefitted most from global warming and recent advances in viticulture; even better when the product of a warmer vintage.  One of my favourite examples is from the skilled, and impossible not to like father and son team of Simon and Remi Rollin.

 Originally renowned for its whites, the breezy Pernand-Vergelesses valley next door to the Grand Cru hill of Corton is beginning to win some deserved acclaim for its reds. Rollin’s example from the lauded 2022 vintage is a personal go to for me, particularly over the summer months.  Breezy, gripping and with a herb-infused fresh cherry and red berry fruit character, it is light, bright but compelling; it provides me with all of the qualities I want from good red burgundy, without me having to think too hard about it.

Delicate sweet fruits, sleek and charming, with fresh raspberry notes and a very fine texture. Juicy, lively and pretty unputdownable.

“The 2022 Pernand-Vergelesses Rouge is nicely focused and quite floral in style, offering plenty of juicy red cherries and wild strawberry fruit on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with ample red fruit and gentle grip. There is a pleasant "verticality" to this modest Pernand that delivers plenty of sapidity on the approachable, pliant finish. For the price, this is worth seeking out.” Neal Martin, Vinous

 

Pernand Vergelesses, 2022 at £25.45 per bottle UK including taxes.

 

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This 11-hectare Domaine, spread over Echevronne, Pernand-Vergelesses, Savigny-Lès-Beaune and Aloxe-Corton, has been run by Remi Rollin since 1989 and more recently he has been joined by his son Simon Rollin in 2003, and Simon’s wife Caroline in 2009. The Domaine has been passed down now by four generations, Raymond Rollin acquired a number of vine parcels, most notably the parcel of Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru Ile des Vergelesses. Raymond’s son, Maurice, played an important role in winning over a large client base while undertaking the management of other vine parcels. In 1976, Remi joined his father Raymond in planting up to almost 10 hectares over the next few years. Remi’s wife, Agnes, helped with the rapid development in bottle sales and since the mid-1990’s all the production has been bottled and labeled under their own label.

 

2022 Vintage

“It was very dry in 2022, and frankly, it was incredible that no vines, - except the youngest –suffered, and we had no blockage. We started on 27th August and were done in ten days. Vinifications were easy. We had a touch of humidity in the growing season, so you had to keep an eye on disease, but overall, it was an easy vintage.” The charming and no-nonsense Remi Rollin was all smiles when we visited, with a fine, generous, even keeled, range of wines in his cellar and a bumper crop to follow. For our part, we loved tasting their supple, energetic, lively reds and bright, charming and surprisingly persistent and driven whites. They look sure to delight and continue to represent some of the best value wines coming out of the region.

 

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