Pierre Guillemot

Why Pierre Guillemot is Essential

Run by sixth generation brothers Vincent and Philippe Guillemot, this Savigny-les-Beaune domaine offers what only the great estates of Bourgogne can: a glimpse of hyper-focused terroir through the lens of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. However, the Guillemot brothers separate themselves from the crowd in three important areas.

One, is that they're almost exclusively about Savigny-les-Beaune, a beautiful little village tucked into a cleft of hills in the northern sector of the Côte de Beaune. What it lacks in Grand Cru vineyard acreage it more than makes up for with personality-driven Premier Cru of varying aspects. The differences between these vineyards is substantial, making Savigny-les-Beaune more exciting to explore than Volnay or Pommard. (It's often more affordable too). Through their half dozen Pinot Noir wines from Savigny-les-Beaune (four of which from Premier Cru), the brothers Guillemot offer the ideal looking glass. I've had the pleasure of tasting the family's 1966 Premier Cru Aux Serpentières in 2023, and the wine's radiant color and superb balance defied any notion that Savigny-les-Beaune is a place for "rustic wines."

The second attribute to point out comes from a one of their two white wines: Dessus Les Gollardes, a Savigny-les-Beaune Blanc with 70% Pinot Blanc. These old vines manage to transmit the village's identity while offering something fresh and zippy to the white Burgundy canon.

Lastly, Domaine Pierre Guillemot does not break the bank as badly as its peers. Somehow, the Premier Cru wines all clock in under the $100 mark, with the lone Grand Cru Corton coming in around $150.

Wines to Seek Out

The wines of Domaine Pierre Guillemot are Haute Valeur Environnementale certified, which emphasizes the building and protecting of biodiversity within the vineyard — not just on a macro level, but a microbial level as well. Many of the vineyards they work with are over 40 years old, they use native yeast and the wines are unfiltered. For the Pinot Noir, various amounts of whole-cluster fermentation is employed depending on the demands of the vintage.

Domaine Pierre Guillemot “Dessus Les Gollardes” Savigny-les-Beaune Blanc

The Guillemot family's signature white defies a lot of White Burgundy expectations, in large part because of the 70% Pinot Blanc used in this cuvée, which seems to give this wine heightened energy and citric snappiness. Judicious use of 600L barrels for fermentation result in just the right amount of breathing room for marzipan aromatics to get in the mix.

Domaine Pierre Guillemot Bourgogne Rouge

You will be hard pressed to find another Pinot Noir of this caliber under the $40 mark. Ridiculously fresh and pristine with a milieu of red fruits, floral aromatics and a touch of leatheriness, this go-to weeknight wine is simply superb for what it offers.

Domaine Pierre Guillemot "Vieilles Vignes" Savigny-les-Beaune Rouge

The preciousness of Savigny-les-Beaune lies in its unique position amidst the Côte d'Or. Unlike the famed Côte de Nuits villages to the north, and even those of Volnay and Pommard to the south, the vineyards here have multiple aspects and an interplay with nearby forests. When blended together, as they are here, you get a very clear sense for Savigny-les-Beaune's character, aided in this case by vines averaging more than 50 years in age.

Domaine Pierre Guillemot "Grands Picotins" Savigny-les-Beaune

The next four wines are all best understood in a sequence, for they underscore the magic bullet of Bourgogne: hyper-specific terroir. In the case of Grands Picotins, the Guillemot brothers demonstrate that even a low-lying Village-level vineyard can boast finesse and detail, even with riper fruit, broader tannins and higher alcohol.

Domaine Pierre Guillemot "Premier Cru Les Narbontons" Savigny-les-Beaune

The Premier Cru Les Narbontons angles to the east and slightly north, on the southern limits of the Savigny-les-Beaune village. Here, Pinot Noir catches the morning sun but not so much of the evening heat, yielding a wine that is at first fathomless and rich, yet refined and earthy on the finish. Along with Aux Serpentières, this is my favorite wine at the domaine.

Domaine Pierre Guillemot "Premier Cru Les Gravains" Savigny-les-Beaune

A wine of supreme depth and radiance, coming from a Premier Cru plot immediately adjacent to Aux Serpentières, but with more alluvial gravel and younger vines. Expect more tannins and more exuberance to the fruit. A tiny plot of only 0.27 hectares (compared to 1.7 hectares within Aux Serpentières).

Domaine Pierre Guillemot "Premier Cru Aux Serpentières" Savigny-les-Beaune

Aux Serpentières is the Goldilocks vineyard for the estate: a bit of Narbontons refinement, a bit of Les Gravains power, yet a mineral-forward palate feel to make everything feel "just right," as the fairytale heroine would say. Here is where the artful use of whole-cluster fermentation — which varies from vintage to vintage — comes to the fore. Swirling herbal touches unify the wine and give it an impossibly tempting nose. The 2020 and 2016 vintages are of particular note: a contrast in climatic styles, yet both demonstrative of the brothers' ability to adapt to changing conditions.

Domaine Pierre Guillemot "Les Rognet" Grand Cru Corton

The domaine's lone Grand Cru wine is certainly an outlier: outside Savigny-les-Beaune — of course, since the village does not have any Grand Cru — and on a prime plot of Corton known as Les Rognet. An amplified, intense and at time smoky Pinot Noir that needs at least 10 years in the bottle to spill its secrets.