Louis Max Mercurey Les Vasees Premier Cru 2011
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The house has always retained a family structure and today, Laurent Max, great-grandson of founder Louis Max, together with a motivated team, has doted itself with all the means of success. The house owns or operates over eighty-seven hectare, or two hundred and fifty acres of Burgundy vineyard.
The eccentric Laurent Max has invested heavily in the vinification facilities in Nuits-Saint-Georges, and, more importantly has installed the young and passionate Brigitte Putzu as head winemaker at Louis Max. Brigitte has spent over sixteen years at Louis Max, formerly as assistant winemaker, and has a long relationship with the 87 hectares of vineyards and clos that Louis Max controls. Brigitte’s wines illustrate her meticulousness in their ripeness, purity and balance.
Since the 1996 harvest, Brigitte has had complete control of vineyard management and vinification for Louis Max. No single vineyard is harvested without Brigitte’s nod – only when ripeness is perfect both technically and physiologically.
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.”
Beloved for its deep and flavorful reds made of Pinot Noir, Mercurey is the largest and most important village in the Côte Chalonnaise of Burgundy with most of its vineyards tucked away in hillsides or stretched along the aptly-named “Golden Valley.” This valley, sheltered from the moist and cool air that funnels along at lower elevations, is ideal for ripening Pinot noir.
Mercurey follows strict yield laws, similar to those at the Côte d’Or village level, promoting the development of deep, full, concentrated and age-worthy Pinot noirs. In their youth, a chewy and rich structure supports flavors of ripe strawberry, raspberry and cherry. Age brings notes of underbrush, tobacco and cocoa.
While Pinot Noir claims the majority of Mercurey vineyard acreage, Chardonnay does grow here and produces uniqely floral and spicey scented white wines.