Visited in St.Amour with Grégory Barbet, 14 February 2019.
Domaine de la Pirolette
Le Bourg
71570 St.Amour Bellevue
Tel: +33 6 75 06 22 73
domainedelapirolette.com
Grégory on 2018:
“2018 a vintage that was practically perfect – though it was a lot of work at the start of the year as we have a heavy soil, but it turned out that we needed that rain-water for the dryness that came. We started the harvest at the beginning of September. And got close the new maximum of 56 hl/ha – normally we are closer 40! We didn’t want to start too early but also didn’t want too high degrees of alcohol – the phenolic maturity still took a little time – we had 14° but it wasn’t too high. Very clean grapes at harvest. I’m very happy with the quality even with the higher rendement – we had a very regular volume despite the weather – not 40 in one and 60 in another. It was the the grape ‘sortie’ that was big – so right from the start.”
Grégory on 2017:
“In 2017 the sortie of the grapes was normal so less grapes than 2018 right from the start. There was no problem with frost or hail in 2017 – there were a few impacts but practically nothing. It was another sunny vintage, we even harvested earlier than in 2018 – at the end of August – a good volume but more in the direction of 40 hl/ha – we were lucky that in 2017, like 2016 we avoided the hail.”
The wines…
A young domaine, but one that’s coming into its stride – the 2016s were excellent but it’s a great range of 2017s – bravo!
The first wine, the ‘generic’ cuvée has three different types of soil in there – the other two are very specific:
2017 St.Amour
Concrete to start and then finished in tank.
Lots of colour. A lovely width of aroma – very fine, very inviting – of fresh, ripe fruit and a touch of flowers. Volume and depth – lovely texture, quite structural but long, and vibrant. Fresh and delicious finishing. Simply excellent and rather young – as a starting point I would wait 12 months …
Elevage in a cement ‘egg.’
Ouf – what a colour – I can’t read my laptop screen through this – practically saturated. A more overt clarity of dark fruit – sweeping aromas. More width of flavour the same open freshness, but here with more sucrosity and with more depth of flavour. A base of very fine tannin – layered in the middle and finishing flavours. Almost a licorice darkness in the finish – but this is pure, great fruit – with a concentration and balance that will provide reward for 10+ years. Great stuff!
As can be seen some barrel elevage here but it has been very sympathetically done.
Equally deep colour as the Poulette. A deeper nose, here certainly a touch of licorice, aeration lightens this and there’s more ripeness of cherry – a lighter colour of fruit becomes apparent. More volume in the mouth – bigger wine – also vibrant. A touch of oak in the supple flavour, but only a touch. A drag to the texture from the tannin but no grain. Intense, slightly mineral with a graphite finishing flavour touched by the creaminess of oak. Bravo again, there’s so much wine here, wait a little longer to drink than the Poulette.