Winemaker Notes
The wine's most common look is an assertive tone (bright ruby, intense garnet carmine) with purple highlights. The bouquet is divided among black fruit (black current, blueberry) and pitted red fruits (cherry). With age, it evokes moss and truffle. Sustained and structured, it possesses the right balance between a powerful body and a fruity expression.
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
The Léchenaut brothers may be based on the outskirts of Nuits-St-Georges, but they also have a very solid presence in Morey-St-Denis. This delicious village red hails from the Pierre Vivant lieu-dit and has plenty of density, structure and texture, with some sappy, stemmy notes from 50% whole clusters, fine tannins and the raciness of a high altitude site.
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.