Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Aromas of black cherries, blackberry bush, spices, wet earth and crushed blueberries. The palate is very pure, with silken tannins, a velvety texture and a seamless finish. There are no hard edges, with a high level of polish. Very good. Drink or hold.
-
Jasper Morris
From the upper part of Clos du Roi. Dark purple, a little reduction, not serious. There is an attractive ripe cherry and raspberry fruit through the middle, without the dry finish of the Bourgogne- as this has been destemmed, which also helps to improve the acid balance. A fine long finish. Drink from 2027-2031.
Barrel Sample: 89-91
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.