Domaine Marius Delarche Pernand-Vergelesses Ile de Vergelesses Premier Cru 2014
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Burgundy from Domaine Marius Delarche stands as an example of what great wine can and should be: both memorable and affordable.
Winemaker Etienne Delarche heads his family's winery of just over 20 acres of vineyards in the appellations of Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton.
It was Etienne's grandfather, Marius, in the 1950s who started winemaking in earnest, when he began cultivating the vines of his wife Jeanne's family. Marius' son, Philippe, in 1987 expanded the family domaine, planting new vineyards and building an underground cellar, just steps from the noble grand cru vineyard of Corton-Charlemagne. Philippe passed away after a prolonged illness in 2008, and his son Etienne, having recently finished his studies in Beaune, took over.
The estate farms its vineyards sustainably, keeping to organic principles (but is not certified). Some vineyards are plowed by horse, where work with a tractor is either impractical or impossible. All wines are aged in French oak barrels for 12 to 16 months before bottling.
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.”
Occupying the most northerly combe (the French term for a valley that cuts through a hillside) of the Côte de Beaune, Pernand-Vergelles sits to the west of and behind the hill of Corton. The most sought after whites of the village come from the slope of Pernand on the side of Corton where Pernand-Vergelles shares the Grand Cru Corton-Charlemagne with Aloxe-Corton. The best red producing Cru is Les Vergelles, which overlaps into Savigny-les-Beaune. Reds here are fleshy, seductive and structured while whites are both lively and age worthy.