Tasted with Laurent Martray on the Côte de Brouilly, 26 February 2021.
Domaine Laurent Martray
749 Route du Mont Brouilly,
69460 Odenas
Tel: +33 6 14 42 04 74
www.domainelaurentmartray.com
More reports with Laurent Martray
Laurent has finally moved his wine-making base. He’s had this house since 2002 but only made the house-move from above Chateau La Chaize last year – he is now one of the nearest neighbours of Chateau Thivin. The move worked out well, he says he could only be happier if all his restaurant clients were working!
Laurent on 2019:
“2019 was a less easy vintage. We had lots of heat but in fact, the ripeness came quite late – we had good degrees but not very dark colours – it reminds me a little of 2016. For these 2019s only one has been bottled the rest not. It’s a crunchy fruit vintage again like 2016 – we did have a bit of frost in the bottom of Pierreeux – here there’s a small river – and that part certainly was affected – we made more wine in 2018 – 2019 was about 42 hl/ha…”
The wines…
I am a self-professed fan of the wines produced by Laurent Martray and here are wines that sit in the sweet spot for 2019s – concentrated but pure and energetic – multiple great wines – bravo!
2019 Brouilly La Folie
Vines that look towards the hill of the Côte de Brouilly. 50% destemmed, then foudres.
A wine that just takes on more and more purity with aeration – that’s really very lovely. Mouth-filling, with freshness, a very faint grain of tannin. Mouth-filling, concentrated but fresh – steely in the middle. A wine of intensity and length – for keeping a while but with lovely material…
From Baloquets – old barrel elevage.
An accent of oak but here the main feature is the ripe, luscious cherry-style fruit. Really mouth-filling, melting with mouth-watering flavour-freshness. Practically a juicy wine – great shape – also for the patient for that last note of barrel to fade, but I find this a great wine.
2019 Côte de Brouilly Les Feuillées
More airy and fresh – a super invitation. Full with gas this one. Redder fruit – so much energy, though the gas is increasing that. Very fine red fruit – berry not cherry fruit. That’s a super wine in waiting, as a minimum excellent, with the chance for more…
All whole cluster – the first vintage for this wine.
Deep, gorgeously pure – fruit of brilliant clarity. Here is volume, also a lick more structure, a little drying, slightly saline, intense – again pure fruited – great, great wine. This needs 2-3 years in the cellar – a great debut – bravo!
And to finish the later-bottled 2018:
Cement tanks for all, all wines have a fine filtration but no fining, this all bottled by hand. This predominantly from 1916 vines, ‘just a big enough cuvée that it doesn’t take anything away from the previous wine.’ No new barrels, 4—6 years old.
A different register – not just the vintage but the waft of, admittedly inviting, oak spice. There’s perfume developing here too. Extra silky, but extra concentrated, ripe fruit but not too ripe. Really intense finishing. A little less energy than the 19s, but not much – that’s another great wine for waiting for!