Tasted in St.Bris with Damien De Luget, 12 January 2022.
Domaine Verret
14 Route de Champs
89530 Saint-Bris-le-Vineux
Tel: +33 3 86 53 31 81
www.domaineverret.com
More reports with Domaine Verret
Damien on 2021:
“We have in total of 23% of a normal year – perhaps 20% in Irancy. Again a bit under 25% in St.Bris, 20% Côte d’Auxerre.”
Damien on 2020:
“Really good – in the reds there’s finesse and tension – not all are bottled yet. The whites have a combination of richness and tension or said another way fruit and terroir – I think it’s a good balance. The whites are much more saline vs the 2019s.”
The wines…
A few greens – not just in the reds – but a tasty selection here – some very good wines…
2020 Côteaux Bourguignons Rosé
All gamay – there’s none of that in 21…
Very pale pink. The nose is open, relatively inviting too. Open, sweet – absolutely delicious – no pretensions but completely delicious and mouth-watering!
2020 Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre
Pinot vines in St.Bris – south-facing but with cooler soils near the wood of St.Cyr
Plenty of colour. There’s a little green herb but nothing to say pyrazine – it’s fresh and attractive but there’s clearly plenty of richness to ripe fruit here too. The same in the mouth – a greener accent but the fruit is again very deliciously mouth-watering. That’s a very good one.
2020 Irancy
This again from cooler terroirs, no barrels. All ss tank elevage – slightly longer elevage.
Here the nose does show a hint of pyrazine – but over darker fruit. Nicely fresh a slightly direct style – really engaging finishing complexity – that’s lovely – the green accents are quite positive today for this…
2020 Irancy Fût de Chêne
‘I don’t like this name but we’ve had it since my parents’ says Bruno Verret – no new oak but elevage in barrels of 3-8-years-old. ‘A wine with a little more elegance.’ Planned to bottle in April
More modest colour. A fainter pyrazine, rounder, slightly floral too. More supple, the concentration more visible. Broad and delicious finishing – there’s material here! Another very tasty wine.
2020 Irancy Palotte
3 parcels, the oldest 95-years-old. There’s some new oak used for this – also for a later bottling…
Much more colour. A more vertical, narrower nose – really deep – I don’t note any pyrazine here, today. Super shape, a certain structure, a grain that seems more from the barrel than the fruit. Broad and impressive finishing – that’s excellent – despite a little finishing vanilla…
2020 Irancy Mazelots
‘Quite young vines – I hadn’t had the vines long when we were strongly hailed. The wines I’d made up to that point I wasn’t satisfied with – a mix of césar, pinot gris and pinot noir – so I took the chance to replant with a pinot fin – there’s a bit more oak here in the elevage,’ Says Bruno Verret. Also a tank sample.
Similarly deep colour to the Palotte. Also quite a compact nose, a certain airy and elegant style – no greens today, in fact quite perfumed. More mouth-filling, more dimensions of flavour. This moves beautifully over the palate – delicious with fine depth of flavour – that could be a really great Irancy – and not showing the oak like the previous wine.
2020 Côteaux Bourguignons
This bottled in the summer. Like the rosé it’s all gamay – there is a little of this in 21, but really not much…
Also a slightly compact nose but with some red-berry notes and a little airy style. Some green notes in the flavours but I really like the texture as this wine melts over the palate. High-toned flavours – quite perfumed finishing – good wine…
Les Whites:
2020 Bourgogne Aligoté
Not a full-power nose but an attractive and inviting one. A hint of gas, some richness too but the wine is never heavy, in fact, it’s super finishing with an excellent blend of yellow citrus and minerality. That’s very good and very tasty…
2020 Bourgogne Côte D’Auxerre Chardonnay
Vines in St. Bris – plenty of barrel used here but none new. This with a manual harvest
Narrow but pure notes of mineral and citrus – a fine invitation. More mouth-filling, more open, more saline, not overly rich and beautifully mouth-watering. That’s a fine wine…
2020 Chablis
Not a large scale nose but here’s extra precision – vines in Courgis. A greener citrus fruit style, really mouth-watering with a lovely chalky minerality – today this is absolutely delicious. Fine clarity of flavour – proper Chablis with a little tension.
2020 Chablis 1er Beauroy
Half old barrel elevage.
I sense a little reduction but Damien says it’s usually like that, almost a little muscaté. More mouth-filling – a calmer wine with a certain richness. Easing over the palate – the shape and the obvious minerality is attractive, slightly round, just missing a little ‘incisiveness’ – but delicious. A little patience for the effects of the barrel and it might become a little more strict – I hope.
2020 St.Bris
Only sauvignon blanc, no gris…
A little mint and pyrazine – it’s quite an interesting, and nice, combination. Broad, super texture – mouth-filling and mouth-watering. There’s quite some salinity to this wine too. That’s a super finish – really a very good and tasty St.Bris….