Winemaker Notes
Yellow color; aromas of golden apples. Lots of succulent acidity and some alcohol. Pineapple flavors. A nice balance of fruit with some anise components. Very refreshing on the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
With renewed interest in the grape thanks to the group of producers known as Les Aligoteurs, this famous, mostly old-vine parcel of Aligoté is enjoying more of the limelight than ever. Cool, breezy and very mineral, with chiselled acidity, notes of lemon zest and green herbs, subtle oaking and a long, sappy, mouthwatering finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos des Monts Luisants Blanc has turned out very nicely in bottle, mingling scents of pear and white flowers with hints of beeswax, toasted almonds and petrol. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and chiseled, it's nicely concentrated, with tangy acids and a layered core of fruit.
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Wine Spectator
A serious and complex white, revealing lemon cake, white peach, beeswax and pastry aromas and flavors. Creamy in texture and harmonious, with a lingering aftertaste of lemon, saline mineral and roasted almond. Drink now
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Jasper Morris
(Tasted separately from the 150th anniversary). Fine pale colour, with a slightly nutty nose, full-bodied with a little bit of greengage before a softer flesh takes over. Certainly, this is very long though, and only modestly hot given the nature of the summer season. 13.5% alcohol.
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Vinous
The 2018 Morey-Saint-Denis Clos des Monts Luisants Blanc ler Cru has a characterful, distinctive nose with fennel, wild mint aromas intertwined with nettle and broom. It conveys a sense of the Northern Rhône. The palate is well-balanced with Nashi pear and grilled walnuts, maybe just a little spirituous towards the finish, though bottle age should temper that. I'd stick this white away for several years and see what comes out the other side.
A native but unique white grape to Burgundy, Aligoté is a light bodied white that often ends up unfairly lost in Chardonnay’s shadow. In Côte Chalonnaise, in a quaint village named Bouzeron, just south of the Côte de Beaune, Aligoté has its very own appellation where yields are limited in order to enhance flavors, acidity and overall quality. Somm Secret—Curiously, the famous producer, Domaine Ponsot, bottles a 100% Aligoté from its Premier Cru in Morey-Ste-Denis, Les Monts Luisants, made from Aligoté vines planted in 1911.
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.