Domaine Taupenot-Merme Morey Saint Denis La Riotte Premier Cru 2018
- Decanter
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Morris
Jasper
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Domaine is spread quite widely throughout the Cote, boasting 13 hectares of vines over 20 appellations, striking a good balance between Grand Cru, Premiers Cru and Village wines. Each of the domaine’s wines speak to a sense of place, illustrating typicity punctuated with a signature of impressive aromatics, chiseled tannins and silky texture.
Romain moved from lutte raisonnee to organic viticulture in 2001, with a winemaking approach which is very hands-off. He talks of infusion not extraction, with fermentation occurring naturally with indigenous yeasts before the grapes go into the pneumatic press. The elevage is also simple, with Romain employing mostly two tonneliers–Francois and Mercurey. Ageing is between 12 to 14 months on fine lees and no racking, with Grand Cru wines seeing 40% new oak, 30% for 1er Crus and about 20% for Village wines. Wines are then transferred to stainless steel tanks for 3 month prior to bottling, with neither fining nor filtration.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Romain Taupenot rates this 0.56ha parcel of 60-year-old vines as one of the best Premiers Crus in Morey-St-Denis. Located on clay-based soils that coped better with the heat of 2018, it has some pepper spice, plush, textured red and black fruit flavours, plush tannins and enough acidity and minerality for balance and harmony.
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Jasper Morris
A bright clear mid purple. Elegance and charm to the fruit. Very pure, a few stems in the middle, perhaps a slightly lactic note from the oak, but a well defined and precise fruit with very good length. Blueberries in the fruit mix? Lovely aftertaste suggesting that this wine can be approached in relative youth. Drink from 2025.
Other Vintages
2019- Vinous
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Spectator
Wine
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Morris
Jasper
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Parker
Robert
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.”
While Morey-St-Denis of Burgundy might not get the same attention as its neighbors, Gevrey-Chambertin to the north and Chambolle-Musigny to the south, there is no reason why it shouldn’t. The same line of limestone runs from the Combe de Lavaux in Gevrey—all the way through Morey—ending in Chambolle.
There are four grand cru vineyards, moving southwards from the border with Gevrey-Chambertin: Clos de la Roche, Clos St-Denis, Clos des Lambrays, Clos de Tart and a small segment of Bonnes-Mares overlapping from Chambolle. Clos de la Roche is probably the finest vineyard, giving wines of true depth, body, and sturdiness for the long haul than most other vineyards.
Pinot Noir from Morey-St-Denis is known for its deep red cherry, blackcurrant and blueberry fruit. Aromas of spice, licorice and purple flowers are present in the wines’ youth, evolving to forest and game as the wine ages.