Tasted in Nuits St.Georges with Oronce de Beler, 25 November 2020.
La Maison Romane
14 rue Thurot
Nuits St.Georges
Tel: +33 6 09 84 97 14
maisonromane.com
More reports with Maison Romane
Oronce on 2021:
“Our 2021s have been in bottle since November – it’s always like this to make space for the new vintage. There’s some finishing of the fermentations in tank after pressing and the gas thats generated helps for the no sulfur elevage. The volume was about half of normal but I’m very happy with the wines. But there was beer in 21 too – we call it a hybrid product as there’s 30% grape juice at the base of the fermentations. There’s cider here too – my grandfather made cider in Normandy – we make two, a primeur ‘tire bouché’ and an ‘hors d‘age’ – the latter has some similarities to champagne production with a disgorgement.
“But back to wine – 2021 has an elegance and a style thats very Bourguignon. For me it’s not a lite vintage – but it’s very drinkable. I think there are some parallels to 2007 but 2021 is more interesting – the shoulders of the wine really only started to show towards the end of the elevage. Unfortunately, there are no whites in 2021.”
The wines…
2021 is such a success for this producer I think – volume excepted!
2021 Bourgogne Rouge
Grapes from Chalonaise
Round and very inviting – a crushed red fruit aromatic. Direct, mobile, cool, growing with small precisions. Wide and long in the finish – absorbing wine, delicious wine – not powerful wine but who needs power without interest? Excellent wine!
2021 Côte de Nuits Villages
From Comblanchien – les Loges
The perfume of the stems is visible – and perfume it is! Mote mouth-filling, more energy with an architectural shape and extra salinity. So complex finishing. I think this a simply excellent wine… Lite but long…
A deeper, more herbed style from the stems – this will take 2-3 years to come around. But the flavours are more direct and intense – yet still cushioned – the texture of velour. Then a burst of finishing flavour – I think we could have a great Marsannay here! But be patient!
Back to slightly higher toned and more perfumed wc aromatics – very inviting. Hmm, supple, fluid, complex, absorbing wine – forget ‘the austerity’ of Fixin, just swim in the wake of this wine, one of complexity and finesse. Super finishing persistence – clearly a great Fixin!
2021 Chambolle-Musigny
One parcel in Les Babillières but two rows in neighbouring Les Nazoires too – so no climat name on the label.
Again super-attractively perfumed, here with an extra vibration of energy. More direct, more silken, fluid and mineral. The fruit is practically secondary, with sone salinity – this wine is about its mother-rock today. But no hard edges and silken the finish sparkling with complexity – simply a beautiful wine!
2021 Vosne-Romanée Aux Reas
Almost cliché, obvious, Vosne aromatics but still in the style of this domaine. Open, the acid-led energy more obvious than the previous wines but with such mouth-filling complexity in tandem – then a width that remains vibrant in this finish. Super wine again!
A broader nose, more implied depth and concentration – a certain creaminess too. Super shape, energy – impressive – bursting with finishing intensity. Slight barrel cream in the finish – like the nose. But a wonderful wine – the best of the whole lineup – and that’s saying something! Just wait a couple of years for the barrel to fade.
And now for something completely different – starting with ‘beer’:
Mousse Sauvage de Pinot Noir
These made with 30% grapes from the Hautes Côtes, carbonic – then bottled like a sparkling wine
An intriguing and attractive, fine herb complexity – it doesn’t smell at all like beer – I know, I don’t like beer! In the mouth too – complex, herbed, almost savoury in style. This one is still not my thing but very un-beer-like…
Mousse de Gamay
Grapes from the from the Mâconnais
Straw colour – more forward, more fruit in this nose. More incisive – broad, similarly complex and herbed – the finish of this more attractive to me, some faint bitters in here too
Mousse de Aligote
Made in three different styles and assembled.
Less colour. A more active energy to this nose. Wide, lively but with a central width of intensity. The finish is perhaps the strongest of these with a little extra bitters – my second favourite…
And the ciders:
Cidre Primeur 2022 Manoir de Bais
From uncle’s domaine. All are ‘vintage’ – ‘all are natural, with nothing used for clarification or any sulfite – no added gas either’
Lots of colour – it’s an impressively pungent but attractive nose. The first impression is of sweetness, then clean and wide finishing – very clean finishing – actually very moreish finishing!
Cidre Ors d’Age 2013
Disgorged recently… ‘This type of bottle will be much better the day after opening…’
A completely different nose – finer, cooler, narrower – more high-toned with some faint herb. More direct, more clarity, I love this purity, less overtly sweet than the Primeur – then a finishing burst of flavour that would make any wine proud – finishing with a faint tannin.