Tasted in Beaune with Geoffroy Choppin de Janvry, 08 December 2021.
Domaine Albert Morot
20 Avenue Charles Jaffelin
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33 3 80 22 35 39
www.albertmorot.fr
More reports with Domaine Albert Morot
Geoffroy on 2021:
“21 was about one-third of a normal harvest and there was no white.”
Geoffroy on 2020:
“It was the same harvest volume in 20 as in 19 for the reds – about 33 hl/ha. The whites brought just a bit more in 2020. It was a hot vintage that lacked water – a bit dry – so the pinots suffered but like the last vintages we had decent yield of fine and clean grapes and no real need to triage. I used a few whole clusters in the ferments as they were quite ripe and added bit more energy. Another vintage with practically no pigeage. I normally bottle in November but because there’s plenty of material I think they need, generally, a bit more time.”
The wines…
Geoffray is ‘never early’ in the vines to harvest but these wines have vigour, freshness and clarity – vs the more typical rounder richer average of the Côte de Beaune. It’s a very fine range – and as always with a few wines worth that special search.
Just the first two wines are bottled plus the white – there were some late-finishing malos which is one of the reasons that the bottling has been split this year. Since 2018 all the corks are NDTec:
2020 Beaune 1er Les Aigrots
Near the Clos des Mouches, 1 ha of vines, 1/3 of which are planted to white – there’s more limestone and sand here. In bottle nearly 4 weeks. The only wine that was completely destemmed – the rest (except Greves with 100% whole cluster) have about 20%
That’s a bright and vibrant nose – vibrantly red-fruited. Direct, silky, cool fruit – that’s directly an excellent wine – lots of finishing complexity too – delicious here. That’s a super start – excellent wine.
From higher up in the vineyard.
Starting narrower but becoming more full and darker fruited – super. Fresher, wider, vibrant with energy. That’s great Teurons – the finish more mineral!
Everything now from barrel:
2020 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er La Bataillière Aux Vergelesses
Sited in Savigny’s Les Vergelesses. One-third of this mid-slope 1.8-hectare monopole, 0.6ha, has been uprooted and planted with chardonnay.
A big, bright fresh nose – that’s lovely – ample fruit. Wide, silky, fresh again – growing in intensity here with a steely minerality and a faint coating of tannin – but grainless. There’s plenty of acidity here so this might be easier to drink when younger but I love the ride that it provides…
More clay and silt here at the bottom of the slope, vines planted in 1962.
What colour! Lots of freshness here – darker fruits again but going deeper and almost textured. Impact, incisive acidity but a broad width of flavour here too. Electric energy from this acidity but the finish is such a beautiful thing, long and perfectly textured. Possibly a great wine but keep an eye on that ‘electric’ acidity.
2020 Beaune 1er Toussaints
There are not many who label this, and this another that is all destemmed. The one that finished malo latest – in September.
The nose here is more guarded but with attractive flashes of violet flowers. A little more structured vs the last but with wide waves of juicy flavour. Holding a fine and very long finish.
2020 Beaune 1er Grèves
often just 1 barrel – Geoffroy doesn’t usually open them after bottling.
All whole cluster – as a test – but the stems are aromatically very discreet – a narrow but impressively deep nose. Framed with a fine grain of tannin – but no dryness. The flavour spreads out wide over the palate, slowly relaxing and then holding. An excellent wine…
2020 Beaune 1er Bressandes
From above Toussaints, there’s more limestone in this plot. A mix of 3 cuvées: all destemmed, 100% stems and 20% stems – all assembled.
Here a faint reduction – the first. Deep, wide and slightly more red-fruited. The tannin is visible in this one too, more wc-flavour complexity in the middle and finish here. A big finish – growing before slowly decaying. Very good!
Right at the top of the hill of Beaune. Lots of young vines in this.
A deep nose, pure, clean, dark fruit. Wide, a little tannic, vibrantly flavoured, holding very strongly too. A more structural wine but with great flavour complexity – wait 5 years and enjoy… Great wine.
Les Whites
All cork, bottled in November:
2020 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er La Bataillière Aux Vergelesses Blanc
This in Vergelesses. 7-year-old vines.
A vibrant nose – a little acidity showing but that’s an invitation! Hmm – calm, mineral, wide in the mouth. Almost a little contemplative, despite great acidity. Love the finish – really attractively vibrant!
2020 Beaune 1er Aigrots Blanc
Here older vines – 30.
A more composed nose of ripe, fresh citrus. Supple, wide, super energy. Again vibrant in the middle and finishing flavours – this is really excellent white Beaune. And delicious too!