Beaune Premier Cru 'Clos du Roi', Domaine Tollot-Beaut, 2022
Beaune Premier Cru 'Clos du Roi', Domaine Tollot-Beaut, 2022
- 75cl
- 13%
- Red Still
- Pinot Noir
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Optimal drinking window: Now - 2040
Tollot Beaut's Clos du Roi comes from one of the most highly regarded Premier Cru sites in Beaune. Clos du Roi sits on well-exposed, gently sloping vineyards on the northern side of the appellation, with limestone-rich soils that give the wines both structure and clarity. Compared with some of Beaune’s softer sites, Clos du Roi tends to produce firmer, more age-worthy wines with a little extra backbone.
The 2022 vintage in Burgundy was warm and generous, following a dry growing season that delivered healthy fruit and good yields. Despite the warmth, the best producers retained freshness and balance, resulting in wines with ripe fruit, polished tannins and excellent approachability while still keeping the structure to age. At Domaine Tollot-Beaut, careful vineyard work and measured extraction has kept the style classic and precise.
Right now the wine is in its primary phase — the fruit is vivid and forward, the tannins present but not yet fully integrated. From around 2027 or 2028, those tannins will begin to soften and knit with the fruit, and you'll start to see the first secondary complexity emerge: forest floor, dried rose petal, perhaps a little game. The wine should reach its plateau somewhere between 2030 and 2035, when fruit, structure, and that iron-edged minerality are in genuine equilibrium. Hold much beyond 2040 and you're asking it to do more than the vintage can promise.
Tasting Notes
AppearanceClear, mid ruby with a bright, youthful rim and no sign of evolution yet.
NoseFresh red cherry and wild strawberry lead, with violet and a subtle earthiness that speaks of the site rather than the cellar. A quiet iron-like mineral quality lifts everything and gives the aromatics real focus.
PalateThe 2022 warmth shows in the generosity of fruit — ripe, almost lush — but Clos du Roi keeps it honest with firm, fine-grained tannins and bright acidity that runs through the mid-palate like a wire. There's concentration here without heaviness, and the finish has that stony, savoury pull that makes you reach for another sip.
FinishLong and precise, with lingering iron minerality and a faint dried herb note that adds intrigue.
Overall impressionA serious premier cru that wears 2022's warmth lightly and still very much belongs to the cellar.
Food Pairings
In Burgundy, a wine like this would most naturally find itself alongside roast poulet de Bresse, ideally with a cream and morel sauce that echoes the wine's earthiness without overwhelming its finesse. Locals might also reach for a slow-braised coq au vin, where the wine's acidity cuts through the richness of the dish. A plate of Époisses or Comté at the right age is another classic pairing — the umami of the cheese drawing out the wine's mineral, savoury side. For a simpler occasion, thinly sliced jambon persillé with a glass of Clos du Roi is, frankly, hard to beat.
We think this wine would go well with
Serve at 15-16°C — slightly cooler than you might instinctively reach for, which keeps the aromatics lifted and the acidity lively. Decanting for 30-45 minutes is worthwhile even now; the wine is approachable but benefits from a little air to open up the fruit and soften the tannins. A large-bowled Burgundy glass is the right tool: it gives the aromatics room to breathe and channels the wine's precision rather than diluting it.
Clos du Roi sits on the upper-middle slopes of the Beaune hill at around 270-310 metres, where thin, stony soils over Jurassic limestone and iron-rich marl give the wine its firm backbone and mineral edge. The elevation provides meaningful diurnal temperature variation that preserves freshness and aromatic lift even in warm vintages. That iron in the subsoil is the site's signature — it gives Clos du Roi a savouriness and grip that sets it apart from the more immediately pliant premiers crus lower on the slope.
Beaune Premier Cru is one of Burgundy's largest and most varied appellations, with 42 classified premier cru lieux-dits spread across the commune's hillside. Quality is therefore uneven, and the name alone tells you less than the specific climat: Clos du Roi is among the most esteemed, alongside Grèves and Fèves. Beaune sits stylistically between Pommard to the south (earthier, more muscular) and Volnay to the north (more perfumed and delicate), offering a middle ground of structured elegance that rewards both early drinking and medium-term cellaring.
The 2022 growing season in Burgundy began with a worryingly dry spring that had vignerons checking soil moisture levels weekly, followed by a summer that alternated between intense heat and welcome rainfall. The vines handled the stress remarkably well, producing smaller berries with concentrated flavours, though yields dropped significantly across both the Côte d'Or and Chablis. Harvest began earlier than usual, with many producers picking in late August under bright skies.
What emerged from the cellars shows a vintage of surprising finesse given the challenging conditions. The Pinot Noirs display vivid fruit and firm tannins without the jammy weight you might expect from a hot year, whilst the Chardonnays retained their mineral backbone alongside ripe stone fruit flavours. We're finding the village-level wines particularly compelling right now, drinking beautifully with just a year or two of bottle age, though the premier and grand crus will reward patience until the late 2020s.
FAQs
What does this wine taste like?
Think ripe red cherry and violet, with a firm, iron-edged minerality running underneath. The 2022 vintage gives it real generosity of fruit, but the Clos du Roi site keeps things focused and structured rather than soft or overblown. There's a savoury, stony quality on the finish that is the site's calling card.
When should I drink this wine?
It's showing well now but we'd encourage patience. Give it until 2027 at the earliest, and ideally 2028-2032 for the full picture. It should remain at its best until around 2040 — so there's no rush, but no need to agonise either.
What food should I pair it with?
Classic Burgundian fare is hard to argue with: roast chicken with morel cream sauce, coq au vin, or a well-aged Comté. It's also excellent with duck breast, rabbit, or anything that has earthy, umami depth to match the wine's mineral character.
How should I serve it?
Serve at around 15-16°C — slightly cooler than room temperature. Decant for 30-45 minutes before serving and use a large-bowled Burgundy glass to let the aromatics open up properly.
Is this wine worth cellaring?
Yes, genuinely. Clos du Roi is one of Beaune's more serious premier crus, and Tollot-Beaut have made a structured wine with the backbone to age. The 2022 vintage is warm and generous rather than austere, so it won't be a long cellaring proposition, but holding until 2030-2035 will be well rewarded.
How does Tollot-Beaut's Clos du Roi compare to other Beaune premiers crus?
Clos du Roi sits towards the more structured, mineral end of the Beaune premier cru spectrum — firmer and more age-worthy than something like Vignes Franches, closer in character to Grèves. Tollot-Beaut's version is particularly reliable: unfussy winemaking that lets the site speak rather than dressing it up with new oak.
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