Morey-Saint-Denis Elegance

Oct 27-Nov 2, 2014
2011 Domaine Odoul-Coquard Morey-St-Denis “Les Crais Gillon”
~$50/bottle – 15% off of regular price of $59 SOLD OUT

If you know little about a vintage or producer, or even much about Burgundy as a region, the wines from Morey-Saint-Denis can be one of your safest options. It’s one of the smallest appellations in the Côte d’Or and over 50% of the acreage consists of premier and grand cru vineyards. The size, along with a core of principled growers, makes the overall standard in Morey-Saint-Denis very high.

It’s often claimed that Morey combines the earthiness of Gevrey-Chambertin with the elegance of Chambolle-Musigny. But that’s too simple. Morey-Saint-Denis has its own characteristics. On the lower slopes, where the single vineyard lieu-dit “Les Crais Gillon” is located towards the Gevrey side of the village, the wines tend to show the typical Côte de Nuits spine without being weighty, and show a suppleness that makes them accessible even in their youth.

Taking over winemaking responsibilities from his father, Thierry, in 2009, third generation winemaker Sébastien Odoul farms just a little over an acre of land in Morey-Saint-Denis. As with all serious growers, Sébastien is meticulous in the vineyard. His cellar practices are minimal intervention so the wines articulate the terroir of individual sites. In 2011, he harvested an extremely low yield from Les Crais Gillon, due in large part to the planting of older vines with extremely tiny berries.

Our good friend, David DeBenedictis, stopped into the shop yesterday and picked up some bottles for himself. Here’s a guy who spends a good part of the year in Burgundy with his company, Terroir Wine Seminars. Because his other home is in Florida, the French call him “Monsieur de Floride”. He works closely with Christophe Tupinier, the editor of Bourgogne Aujourd’hui Magazine — a French publication concerned with all things related to Burgundy wine. Let’s just say, David knows a thing or two about Burgundy. He was quite pleased to see us offering wines from this little known yet high-level producer and told us the price for this Morey-Saint-Denis was simply outstanding.

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Posted on 2014.10.23 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy