Winemaker Notes
The color is very full, with an assertive tone (bright ruby, carmine, intense garnet) with purplish reflections. The bouquet is divided between black fruits (blackcurrant, blueberry) and red stone fruits (cherry). It has variations such as sloe, bramble, violet, carnation, licorice, brandy fruits. Strong and structured, this wine awaits you on the palate with a firm footing. The right balance between the strength of the body and the expression of the fruit. A tenor voice in the Burgundy choir, it knows how to round off its tannins and offer generous flesh.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Offering up aromas of red berries, orange rind, raw cocoa and sweet soil tones, the 2017 Morey-Saint-Denis Cuvée des Grives is medium to full-bodied, supple and charming, with a racy spine of acidity and fine, powdery tannins behind its ample core of succulent 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.”
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.