Tasted in Paris l’Hôpital with Arnaud Mitanchey, 27 April 2021
Domaine Saint Marc
1. Rue de Nolay
71150 Paris l’Hôpital
Tel: +33 3 85 91 13 14
www.saint-marc.fr
Here’s another domaine where I tasted a great Beaune in my 2018 tasting.
It was Arnaud’s father who started the domaine here with family vines in 1980, with Arnaud joining in 2011 after a stint working in California. Arnaud’s father, Jean-Claude, was also working at the Château de Meursault and Château de Marsannay for many years. They have added parcels here and there since 1980 – today exploiting about 8.5 hectares – nearly half of that in the Hautes Côtes – no surprise as that’s where Paris l’Hôpital is situated!
The domaine has mainly French sales though there’s a püassing trade here too which they service from the domaine shop – when somebody is at home!
Arnaud on 2019:
“Since 2016 I would say that we’ve only had good vintages – though not always a big volume. The reds have concentration and colour and the whites are not too heavy – I think it’s a very good vintage. Our Hautes Côtes de Beaune is ready for picking a week later than our Beaune which is helpful for a small harvest team – we take 7-8 days with this team. I remember a nice sunny harvest – and for the last few vintages too.”
The wines…
A first visit to this producer – and what a really super range of wines – bravo. I enjoyed them a lot – the Beaune of course, it was the reason I visited – but in particular the two Santenays, red and white, are worth looking for.
All bottles sealed with DIAM. Occasional vintages see one or two wines have a little wc but there was none used in 2019 as Arnaud didn’t really see any great benefits in the previous cuvées:
2019 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Rouge Paris 1243
The cuvée name indicating the birth vintage of the village Paris l’Hopital – though it didn’t have hospital in the name in those days. 40% tank elevage and no new oak. Vines overlooking Paris l’Hopital
A nose of fruity and vibrant depth – a little textural. Mouth-filling, mobile – nicely concentrated. A little (nice) bitters in the finish – and long too. That’s a really excellent Bourgogne.
2019 Santenay Fougenet
A blend of Foulots and Clos Genet – So ‘Fougenet’ – all wood elevage here – 10-15% was new.
A nicely vibrant nose and slightly darker-red fruited. Supple, a growing intensity – a wine of freshness but also a weight of flavour behind. Depth of flavour, slightly saline. That’s another really excellent wine – lots of flavour complexity here. Finishing with a broad swathe of complexity…
Higher vines with not much soil and a lot of limestone. ‘I don’t blend as the style is very different from this place. The elevage the same as for the last.’
Fresher and more floral nose – very attractive. Ooh – that’s really impressive – a lick more of freshness – and a mouth-filling more perfumed style of flavour. The oak is visible but modest and will soon be gone. I’d wait two-3 years – but that’s a great villages Santenay.
2019 Beaune 1er Clos Les Avaux
Half a hectare here part planted to white too – the first vintage of that will be 2020.
Medium colour. A less overtly forward nose after the Chainey but still with a fine, slightly floral fruit. Really silky, more direct, even a little mineral. So mouth-watering but not a bit acidic. Growing in intensity. Not the most forward wine here but one of textural sophistication and a certain class. A wine of finesse with a suggestion of finishing salinity.
2019 Pommard Les Chanlins
Villages vines planted in the 1950s – near Rugiens
Back to the aromatic volume of the previous wines – slowly growing some floral aspects too. Mouth-filling – volume, silky to start before a little grain of tannin shows itself. Lovely freshness of mouth-watering flavour – layered depth to this flavour too. A super villages wine, faintly oaked in the finish today – but not for long…
2019 Maranges 1er Clos Roussot
70-year-old vines – ‘they don’t produce a lot but I like the wine – the roots are too close to the surface so I can’t plough otherwise I’d be digging them up.’
Another nose with a little less impact – a nice saline width though. A little more attack – plenty of energy here – a wine with more structure but also a wine that relaxes and melts more over the palate more than the others. The finish is a good one. This for waiting for but it’s a very good wine.
Les blancs:
2019 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc Sous Carrières
There was a small quarry here in Paris l’Hopital between the two wars
A forward nose, one of volume, quite aromatic below, like a Mâcon. Round, mouth-watering that slightly muscaté quality. The nicest part of this is the finish – there’s a lovely and more elegant finishing flavour…
A small parcel of .25 ha – part was red but regrafted that part to white. All barrel elevage – 25% is new.
A more compact nose but also of a finer, more elegant style. In the mouth too – more mineral, mouth-watering and beautifully proportioned, a tension even. Ooh – that’s a great villages Santenay – I like that a lot! Bravo!
2019 Meursault Sous la Velle
An equal blend of old and younger vines. The first place harvested
Here the nose has nice clarity but also missing a little personality to start. In the mouth that’s not the case – Arnaud has a nice touch with this wine – mineral, mouth-watering – a little more depth of concentration and – that Meursault flavour. That’s an excellent Sous la Velle.
2019 Meursault Bois de Blagny
After the last, this is the vine that’s last harvested – 375m high next to the forest.
Also a modest volume of aroma here – but perhaps a faint extra freshness. More driving, more direct, more complex too – that’s a lovely flavour – less overtly Meursault – but Meursault all the same. I prefer this energy and complexity – there’s still some roundness – hmm no, perhaps the first – ahh – it’s not easy. Two very different but two very delicious wines.