Winemaker Notes
Made from Pinot Noir grapes frown on clay and limestone soils. Fermented in stainless steel tanks, using naturally occurring yeast. The vines have been organically farmed since 2001.
Upon opening, this wine is characterized by lavish fruit but has the capability of aging quite well.
Professional Ratings
-
Jasper Morris
A fine glowing purple. Bright mid purple, with a very lively nose, very obviously whole bunch. Actually, a really gorgeous nose, more floral in the top notes but a wealth of come-hither fruit below. A wonderful wealth of fruit right across the palate. Later picking paid off. This is a delight but the Clos de la Roche has significantly more intensity Drink from 2030-2038.
Barrel Sample: 94-97 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru is brilliant, wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet red berries, summer fruit compote, sweet spices, licorice, peony and coniferous forest floor. Full-bodied, ample and layered, it's fleshy and textural, its satiny attack segueing into a deep, seamless mid-palate and a perfumed, penetrating finish.
Barrel Sample: 94-95
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.