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Exploring Mercurey: Vintage 2019 Red Burgundy Bounty From a Mosaic of Soils and Terroirs. (8-Bottle Pack $341)

The Unique Features of the Great Vineyards of Burgundy

To suggest that the splendor of Burgundy is rooted in unpredictability is not far from the mark; like the little girl with the forehead curl, when Burgundy is good, she’s very, very good and when she’s bad, she’s rotten. Located in central France, the hot summers and cold winters that typify a continental climate lead to extremes in weather that can make or break a vintage, sometimes overnight. Unlike Bordeaux or the Rhône, legendary Burgundian vineyards are found on hillsides and generally with east-facing exposures to take advantage of morning sun and to allow ample drainage in case of excessive rainfall—another climactic dice-roll in Burgundy.

The proving grounds of history, now codified into law, have shown growers which grape thrives best in which vineyard. Burgundy is the kingdom of monovarietal wines; the superlative crus are never blends, but (with the exception of the Aligoté village of Bouzeron) either built entirely of Pinot Noir or Chardonnay depending on which of the two finds a perfect blend of terroir and microclimate in a specific climat.


Southern Burgundy: La Côte Chalonnaise

Like a country cousin who shows up at a family reunion, wines from the Côte Chalonnaise have often been overlooked as being rustic and out-of-touch compared to the rarified crus of the Côte d’Or. But then, when you strike up a conversation, you find that your relative has a whole lot going on under the surface.

Lying directly south of the grand Chardonnay domains of the Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise extends through five communes—Bouzeron, Rully, Mercurey, Givry and Montagny—separated from one another only by a few miles. Whereas the vineyards of Beaune are planted along the limestone escarpments of the central Côte d’Or, growers in the Chalonnaise plant in the scattered patches of limestone soils that characterize the local terroir.

The splendor of Burgundy is found in its seamless presentation of both finesse and concentration. In the Côte Chalonnaise, the growing season is slightly cooler than in the Côte d’Or, and it is imperative that the grapes ripen fully before harvest and that vignerons keep grape yields low to maximize intensity. Historically, the wines of the Chalonnaise have been lean and taut, but with a new crop of vintner, richer, more fruit-forward wines are being produced.

Not only that, but like your backwoods cousin who might be willing to work for little less than a city boy, the wines of Chalonnaise represent a word which in Burgundy often seems incongruous: Value.


Mercurey: An Ode to Diversity

Like the Roman god from which this appellation takes its name, Mercurey is often associated with the color red—and that’s because 90% of Mercurey’s vinous output is Pinot Noir. Situated in the heart of the Chalonnaise, Mercurey claims about 1600 acres of land under vine; 1300 are Pinot Noir with the remainder divided between Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Aligoté.

It is the most important appellation in Côte Chalonnaise by far.

Jean-Pierre Renard, who teaches wine appreciation and tasting at the École des Vins de Bourgogne, describes Mercurey’s orientation as identical to that of the Côte Chalonnaise—north to northeast and south to southwest, with the Golden Valley running down the middle. On the eastern side, vines are planted in calcic soils of Oxfordian limestone, while in the west, crystalline Jurassic rocks are overlain by gravel. Protected from moisture-bearing winds by the hillsides, the vineyards stretch as far as the neighboring village of Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu. According to local grower Amaury Devillard, Mercurey is a hidden jewel among Bourgogne wines and remains one of the best price/quality wines available: “It was once known as a rustic wine, but the Mercurey of today is completely different. Our wines express fruitiness, cherries especially, with a nice spiciness in the finish.”

This improvement in quality is in part because many Mercurey winemakers are better than the AOP might suggest: Although up to 15% of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris are permitted as accessory grapes in the red wines, this is rarely practiced, and certainly never in the Premier Cru wines, which make up a quarter of all vineyards and account for 31 officially recognized and delimited climats.


Magical (2019) Vintage: Fresh with an Indulgent Side

For an appellation that not only benefits from, but depends upon, long hang-times in the field to manifest its true potential, 2019 was a slice of magic for the Côte Chalonnaise. The growing season was the third warmest in the last century, with only two brief blasts of extreme heat at the end of June, and July, and these were interspersed with enough rain to prevent drought stress to the vines.

In vintages like this, acidity may suffer in the face of jammy ripeness, but in the Chalonnaise, the growers themselves were surprised at the searing freshness and crystalline purity of the wines. Coming on the heels of the relatively copious vintages of ’17 and ’18, yields were smaller, but success was seen across the board. Already open and enjoyable, these wines have the potential for spectacular improvements with aging.


Gouffier

Frédéric Gueugneau may be seen as an archetype in the new blood that has infused Mercurey over the past decade. As a young man in the village of Fontaines (which sits between Mercurey and Rully) he was a laborer in the vineyards of Gouffier, which consisted of thirteen acres spread across eight appellations. Then under the direction of Jérôme Gouffier, the estate had been in the same family for two centuries.

In 2011, upon the death of Gouffier, Gueugneau was asked by his neighbors to take over the day-to-day management of the estate, bringing with him the eight years of experience he’d gained at La Chabliesienne, a wine cooperative in Chablis. He began by reinvigorating the farming philosophy, introducing organic practices; along with his partner Benoît Pagot, Gueugneau brought fresh thinking to the vines and to Gouffier itself—a picturesque estate that finds focus in a stunning, stone-domed cellar that once served as a bunker in the time of Napoleon.

Another unique feature of Gouffier is its close alliance with a single cooper. Doreau Tonneliers of Cognac is instrumental in finding the perfect match between barrel and wine, and in fact, nearly 20% of the wood used to make the barrels used by Gueugneau and Pagot comes from the forest just beyond the property’s walls.

Gouffier, Mercurey Premier Cru Clos l’Évêque 2019 ($48)
One of 32 Premier Cru vineyards in Mercurey, Évêque translates to ‘Bishop’, signifying that the vines once belonged to the Bishopric of Chalon-sur-Saône—a time when it was considered the best vineyard in Mercurey. It is situated on a geological fault-line in the Val d’Or where the subsoils are deep and silty with small pebbles to provide adequate drainage to the vine roots. The wine is garnet in color with a clean and elegant nose that evokes ripe red and black fruits, raspberry, cherry, blackberry, blueberry enriched by fine woody notes, roasted coffee, cocoa and a hint of licorice.

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Gouffier, Mercurey Lieu-dit ‘Les Murgers’ 2019 ($41)
‘Murgers’ refers to the stones that were removed from the plot to enable vine planting; the three-acre, east-facing Gouffier plot is rich in loamy topsoil with deeper layers of clay that relies on deeper rocks to supply adequate drainage. Vines are pruned according to the Guyot Poussard method, which takes sap flow into account and reduces the damage that pruning may cause. The wine’s forward bouquet of cherries and raspberries are touched with sweet soil tones and subtle hints of smoke girded by silky tannins and integrated acidity.

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Gouffier, Mercurey Lieu-dit ‘La Charmée’ 2019 ($40) As charmed as this particular parcel may be, the name refers to the hornbeam trees (charmoie) that once grew in the spot. At just under two acres, the named vineyard (lieu-dit) faces east and contains ample loam and iron-rich ocher clay—the substance from which ocher pigment is made. Dark ruby in color, the wine offers rich raspberry, blueberry and toast on the nose with pepper hints on the finish.

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Domaine Michel Juillot

The vineyards of Domaine Michel Juillot spread across the Côte Chalonnaise and Côte de Beaune and include 50 acres of Pinot Noir and twenty-five of Chardonnay. Of the sites, located in twenty individual appellations, half are Grand Cru and Premier Cru. Says fourth-generation winemaker Laurent Juillot: “Between our parcels, we do not differentiate the care we provide. We are convinced that our added value is in the terroir alone. The difference between a Grand Cru, a Premier Cru, a Village or a Bourgogne generic wine comes from the soil, the earth, the sun and the grape in its environment. We respect them all equally and treat them accordingly.”

Laurent is the grandson of Michel Juillot, and it was with the elder Juillot’s blessing that the estate, under Laurent’s direction, began to move toward sustainable agriculture. As a true gauge of quality, he ferments on native yeasts alone, as he believes that this is the only way to faithfully transcribe into a single-parcel cuvée the true expression of that unique climat. Current production is 180,000 bottles.

Domaine Michel Juillot, Mercurey Blanc Premier Cru ‘Clos des Barraults’ 2019 ($45)
Michel Juillot has the largest holding in des Barraults and produces the most well-known Pinot Noir bottling from the site, but Chardonnay vines make up about 36% of the ‘Clos’ plantings. The vineyard boasts classic Burgundian clay-limestone marl soils with a high proportion of lightly-colored gravel and pebbles in the topsoil. The southern exposure ensures good ripening, perhaps at the expense of prolonged time spent in the softer morning sun. Although Mercurey white wines generally take a back seat to the reds, this one offers Meursault-like creaminess with a backbone of crisp citrus and a vanillin finish.

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Domaine Michel Juillot, Mercurey Premier Cru ‘Clos des Barraults’ 2019 ($45)
18 months in oak barrels specifically built for this producer, 30% of them new. This shows in the soft wood undertone that follows the palate through raspberry jelly, spicy Morello cherry and pleasant leatheriness that arises from the integrated tannins.

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Domaine Michel Juillot, Bourgogne Rouge 2019 ($29)
An ‘entry-level’ Burgundy may come from numerous villages, each with a specific profile to add, but this one is unusual in that the vines used to produce the wine range from 26 to 41 years in age, adding a gravitas not often found in the basic Bourgogne designation. Aged 12 months in oak, the wine shows tart cranberry and hints of strawberry, with a subtle minerality behind a medium-weight Pinot Noir.

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Domaine Adélie

Domaine Adélie, comprising 20 acres of various Mercurey lieu-dits (including the Premier Cru Champ Martin), was named for the daughter of Albéric Bichot, lead négociant at the famous Hospices de Beaune and owner of five other prestigious estates in Burgundy. He was voted best winemaker by the International Wine Challenge in three of the past ten years.

With this recognition comes a commitment to sustainable agriculture and a reverence for the uniqueness of each parcel and its stewardship. Despite the accolades, Albéric downplays the grandeur of his hallowed vineyards, preferring to talk about wine as a beverage to be enjoyed with friends, not over-analyzed or intellectualized.

Domaine Adélie, Mercurey Lieu-dit ‘en Pierre Milley’ 2019 ($50)
From a 5-acre lieu-dit where the vine age averages 35 years, the soil is rich in clay above a bedrock that consists of compacted limestone with a few areas that are predominantly marl. The nose shows forward fruit with notes of wild berries, plum and peach while the velvety and smooth with a long, nicely balanced finish.

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Domaine Faiveley

The Faiveley family has been present in the Côte Chalonnaise for four generations and in Mercurey since 1963, the year that Guy Faiveley planted the vines that are still producing today. These vines are found in five distinct climats and cover nearly a hundred acres. Grapes are hand harvested, sorted and pressed on site in Mercurey, and after vinification the young wines are brought to the domain cellars in Nuits-St-Georges for aging. The wine is aged in a combination of stainless steel and oak for 12 to 14 months prior to release.

Domaine Faiveley ‘Vieilles Vignes’, Mercurey 2019 ($43)
From a 67-acre plot with vines planted in 1962, 1978, 1981. Elegant and charming with aromas of raspberries and plums mingled with sweet spices and raw cocoa. Medium to full-bodied, bright and fleshy, with lively acids and velvety tannins.

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Posted on 2022.04.08 in Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey, France, Wine-Aid Packages

 

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