Tasted in Meursault with Marthe Henry Boillot, 04 April 2023.
Marthe Henry
3 Rue du Leignon
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 6 30 36 22 99
www.marthehenryboillot.com
Marthe on her recent vintages:
“I’m only just starting to commercialise my 2020s – which is lucky as from the 2021 vintage I don’t have much – though I have a Fleurie! I really needed to search for grapes as a bunch of contracts were not available and it was a tough search to find the quality that I was looking for – there’s no Pommard in 2021 for instance. But I had very good quantity in 2022 and the volumes were much higher in 22 too.”
The wines…
An obviously depleted cellar in 2021 but with tasty, interesting, sometimes downright excellent wines – there were some surprises too!
2021 Fleurie
From Morriers – ‘all whole clusters but made in Burgundy style…’
Round, cushioned, slightly floral. Fresh – open – energetic wine – lovely energy, lovely intensity – that’s a super wine – no faults and delicious – it had half elevage in tank and half in barrel but you won’t note any wood.
2021 Côteaux Bourguignone
A blend of Meursault pinot with gamay from Beaujolais
A nose with a little more depth – and texture – starting less ‘clean’ vs the Fleurie but very attractive and becoming ever more pure with air. A different shape – but lovely energy once more – with extra finishing width – that’s another super wine and certainly no less good than the Fleurie… Bravo Coteaux Bourguignone!
All the following not yet bottled:
2021 Maranges
High toned perfume – it’s attractive. More direct but with fine, clean flavour – quite chiselled and finishing well too. This is a mineral and floral wine – one with a lot of finesse.
2021 Pernand-Vergelesses
Just one barrel.
A deeper nose of pretty red fruit. Extra width of flavour – the cool open style of the Maranges but finishing with extra impact. I love this slowly fading finish…
A surprise with no name for now, I think:
Deeper colour. Muscular aromas of depth, lots of barrel aromatics too. Plenty of tannin – it’s neither pinot nor gamay – I ask: “It’s merlot – grapes from Pomerol. I destemmed it by hand – as I didn’t have a destemmer!” This is certainly the only merlot I ever tasted from barrel in burgundy!
Les Whites:
2021 Bourgogne Aligoté
Vines in Santenay.
A deep and cushioned nose – that’s very attractive. Broad, energetic – more energy than the nose – vibrant lip-smacking finishing flavour too – so moreish. Lovely wine.
2021 Bourgogne Chardonnay
Much deeper aromatics, with a faint reduction – pear and pungency. Super in the mouth – open, easy, never simple but slightly exotic – it turns out that the grapes come from the Mâconnais – ‘yes I tried my best to minimise the exotic side.’ Good wine.
2021 Montagny
This is more exotic too – the barrel showing here – though none are new. There’s extra depth and concentration in this width of flavour – long finishing – Yum. ‘Only two barrels, like for the Rully and Meursault – it’s like a small shop here in this vintage!’
2021 Rully Les Maizières
The second crop from these young vines – but with only 5 hl/ha in 2021.
Here is aromatic depth with a slight apple complexity today. The barrel is visible in the middle flavours – the spine of the wine – but this has such a melting attractiveness to the flavours – simply delicious finishing. A beauty!
2021 St.Romain
Attractive, direct a more obvious agrume aromas. More tension and mouth-watering energy – a cascade of finishing energy – so delicious a simply excellent wine – indeed, potentially a great villages!
2021 Meursault
A width, that almost seems to melt its aromas in the nose – that’s really lovely! A little more impact – certainly more silk – faintly reductive, broad in the middle flavours and with extra weight and consideration to those flavours. There’s additional width in those finishing flavours too – holding so very well – another simply excellent, delicious villages.