Les Grèves is certainly one of the best-known of Beaune's 1er Crus (accounting for 74 acres). Seen from above, it forms a square block with due easterly exposure, taking up the full length of the hill along a gentle slope. The first distinctive characteristic of the vines here is that they are very old (around 70 years), and thus have a naturally low yields. With its superb exposure, these vines always enjoy excellent maturity. The grapes were handpicked and sorted, a first time in the vineyard and again on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery. The grapes were 50% destemmed but not crushed and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration lasted a total of 25 days including one week of cold maceration. Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only and infrequent punching of the cap. The wine aged on the lees for 17 months with no racking, 40% of new French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time to impart a very delicate touch of oak to the wine. The wine was not fined but was very gently filtered before being bottled. Wine Enthusiast Magazine scored this 94 points saying "A structured wine that is also full of ripe fruit. Its red-berry fruits are encased in the tannins that still need to soften. The wine will be generous, full of berry flavors and with a dense texture."