Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
In the late 1970s, François Lumpp and his brother inherited their family property, located in the Côte Chalonnaise. In 1991 he founded his own label with his wife, Isabelle. Using sélection massale cuttings, François developed his domaine around Givry's bestpremier cru sites, which, as in most of the Côte d’Or, are situated on the mid to upper level slopes of the rolling hillsides. The Lumpp domaine is an especially good fit here at KLWM because it embodies exactly what we look for in Burgundy: a true vigneron in a specific village. Every wine François makes is from Givry, from vineyards that he planted and nurtured himself–something that is exceedingly rare in Burgundy today, and will become more and more so over time.
Noted as the preferred wine of King Henry IV of the late 1500s—though maybe because his mistress came from here!—Givry is a top red wine-producing village in the Côte Chalonnaise.
Its firmly structured reds, made exclusively from Pinot Noir, also boast plenty of blackberry and strawberry fruit with supple tannins that benefit from about two to five years in the bottle. The robust fruit and firmness on the palate in a Givry red begs for dishes such as mixed charcuterie, braised veal, stewed poultry or roasted duck.
Typical Givry whites have a fresh bouquet of lemon, lime, white flower licorice and can benefit and become softer with age.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”