Winemaker Notes
Rich, meaty and solidly put together, Mercurey, secure in its position among the royalty of wines, brings out the best from beef rib steaks, or joints of beef or lamb, braised or in sauce.Roast pork is well suited to its rich aromas, as are poultry-based stews. Exotic dishes like-wise prove worthy partners for this wine. As for the cheeseboard, this wine harmonizes equally well with either mild, soft cheeses or aged versions.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
A subtle nose on this wine suggests red currant and a riper notion of red cherry. The slender palate wraps that tender red-fruitedness in distant woodsmoke. There is an elegance and light touch about this wine and a delicate perfume. Freshness pervades all.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Maison Chanzy Mercurey Premier Cru Clos de Roy is an excellent example of this AOC. TASTING NOTES: This wine is attractive and generous. Enjoy its well-balanced aromas and flavors of lively, ripe fruit with a classic Irish stew. (Tasted: February 14, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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.”
Beloved for its deep and flavorful reds made of Pinot Noir, Mercurey is the largest and most important village in the Côte Chalonnaise of Burgundy with most of its vineyards tucked away in hillsides or stretched along the aptly-named “Golden Valley.” This valley, sheltered from the moist and cool air that funnels along at lower elevations, is ideal for ripening Pinot noir.
Mercurey follows strict yield laws, similar to those at the Côte d’Or village level, promoting the development of deep, full, concentrated and age-worthy Pinot noirs. In their youth, a chewy and rich structure supports flavors of ripe strawberry, raspberry and cherry. Age brings notes of underbrush, tobacco and cocoa.
While Pinot Noir claims the majority of Mercurey vineyard acreage, Chardonnay does grow here and produces uniqely floral and spicey scented white wines.