Winemaker Notes
Rich, varied aromas of berry fruit on the nose. On the palate, a charming ensemble with both structure and roundness. Good aging potential.
Pair with poultry and game birds (quail, pigeon, etc.).
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Monthélie 1er Cru Les Duresses opens in the glass with scents of peonies, wild berries, dark chocolate and coniferous forest floor. Medium-bodied, lively and concentrated, it's deep and velvety, with lively acids and an unusually suave, elegant texture for young Monthélie. From a late-ripening site, its racier profile distinguishes it from the more gourmand Monthélie Champs Fulliot. Range: (90 - 92)+
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Jasper Morris
Clean glowing purple, picked late, but this pays off with a really classy nose. Perhaps lifted by the whole bunch, which gives an additional ripe strawberry perfume. Crunchy and dynamic, with correct acidity and the fruit covers any tannins entirely. Long and delicious.
Barrel Sample: 89-91 -
Wine Spectator
A light-bodied, spicy red, boasting black cherry, violet, black pepper and baking spices. Balanced and lingers, with abundant ripe fruit.
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.”
