Winemaker Notes
A blend of several old-vine parcels, this cuvee has a vibrant, concentrated attack, followed by a silky and texture and well-integrated tannins. Tart cherry, cranberry and raspberry fruit weave through a taut mineral core, with black pepper and earth notes emerging on the elegant finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Beautiful red-fruit and spice nose that is so vibrant. This is like biting into the ripest cherry you can imagine, a little hint of bitterness striking the match on an explosion of berry fruit. Stacks of soft tannins below the waterline, then comes a vibrant breathtaking finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A terrific introduction to the range is the 2020 Marsannay Cuvée Marie Ragonneau, a medium to full-bodied, ample and concentrated wine evocative of blackberries, raspberries, musk, sweet spices and peonies. Lively and refined, it's a blend of several old-vine parcels dotted around the commune.
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.”
Perched up in the northernmost position in the Côte de Nuits, Marsannay is the only appellation village of Burgundy to produce classified wines of all three colors: red, white— and rosé. The official Rosé de Marsannay earned its high reputation in the early 1900s.
Its reds, made of Pinot Noir, burst with red and black fruit and are consistently long on the palate. Chardonnays from Marsannay are charming, floral and full of citrus fruit and mineral. Top Marsannay vineyards include Clos du Roy and Les Longeroies.