Tasted in Meursault with Romain Pertuzot, Nadine Gublin & Martin Prieur, 02 May 2023.
Domaine Jacques Prieur
6 Rue des Santenots
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 23 85
www.prieur.com
More reports with Domaine Jacques Prieur.
Nadine 2022:
“We are happy with 2022 – the quality is there – the volume is nice but the quality is excellent. Maybe better than 2020 for the reds – we didn’t expect such balance but there was enough rain in June that we ended up with something with a proper finesse plus freshness.”
Nadine & Edouard on 2021:
“No photo here – we had much less production than in 2016. In 2016 there were parts that weren’t touched. In 2021, everywhere was touched. It was also nonsense to light candles at minus 7°C – so much CO2 that you are adding. We saw 70-80% losses and some of our wines were not made, whilst others were blended to make a full press. You had to be financially ‘solid’ to lose more than 70% – we are not asking everyone to cry but each bottle for us is a little miracle… When we started our elevage we really had zero hope that the wines could be as good as they turned out – the quality of the tannins and good colour – it was all about the elevage in 2021. All of the reds were destemmed in 2021. Clearly, the whites were the most dramatically affected by the frost – for volume but everything was harvested from 12.8° natural in this vintage – We didn’t have a lot of malic acidity but plenty of tartaric…”
The wines…
The ‘maison’ wine here in 2021 are simply excellent. Also at the domaine, ignoring of course their paltry production volumes – this is a stunning success for the domaine – just like for their 2021 Beaujolais.
First, a selection of ‘maison’ Labruyère-Prieur wines:
Bottled – in this vintage it’s a blend of Clos Genet, 1er Comme and 1er Grand Clos Rousseau.
An implied silk to this nose – but plenty of depth of dark red fruit too. Hmm but so delicate pure, complex – gorgeous ‘villages.’ Bravo…
2021 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
A large parcel of almost 1 hectare quite central in parcel, Grand Glos and Brussones. Racked, in tank – bottling next week.
This nose is deeper and at the same time with more airy top notes. A fluid wine, of sinuous style and growing intensity – a small attractive, lick of tannin. Broad and clean finishing – that’s another very lovely wine…
2021 Volnay 1er Santenots
In Santenots Blanc. This bottled.
Silky, a little more generous, rounder red fruit. Supple, beautiful in the mouth – still concentrated – accented only by the tannin – slowly fading in the finish – beautiful wine again!
Vines above the ‘Clos Platière.’.
More airy top notes – faintly herbed this time. Bottled. Just the faintest of herb complexity today. Vibrant – open, joyous flavour – I love this intensity. Simply excellent…
Now the domaine wines:
2021 Beaune 1er Cru
Bottled. All the red premiers of the domaine in this – made from only 7 hl/ha – this the most impacted of all the reds…
An airy nose with a more obvious mineral note. Broad, mineral, plenty of concentration and good texture. Waves of finishing flavour that radiate out from the core. Lots of wine here – very good wine…
A breadth of fine aroma – this is very appealing – and nicely perfumed too. Cool, direct, framed with a grainless tannin – I love the shape and juiciness of this wine – some creamy barrel notes creep in. That’s a great red Meursault, long finishing too – wait a couple of years…
The whole clos here – no separation of the young vines they are already 25 years old…
Darker fruit but there’s some high-toned perfume that amply balances. Fluid – broad but also deeply flavoured. Lip-smacking, juicy, flavour – a beautiful wine in 2021 – so gorgeously perfumed through a little creaminess in the finish – Bravo!
2021 Corton-Bressandes
The first vintage since 2014 fully destemmed.
Not a forceful nose – but one of clarity and appealing energy. Large scale in the mouth – another wine framed by its tannin but very fine – almost no grain. Wide and mouth-watering. Excellent Corton.
None of the wines that follow were bottled:
2021 Clos de Vougeot
1.2 ha. Racked last week. Normal volume harvest here. In general, in CdN we were less affected by the frost and didn’t have the blockage of growth that we saw in the Côte de Beaune – so here 13° without problem…
A little more aromatic intensity with slightly darker fruit – almost an aromatic architecture. Incisive and broad – super intense. Vibrant and juicy. A wine that has it all – except austerity. That’s a beauty!
2021 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
This is the young vines of Chambertin – 13° natural…
there’s already depth and texture to this nose – this is super. Concentration – mouth-filling – creamy, floral – lacking no density. A simply excellent Gevrey 1er Cru!
2021 Chambertin
Deep and wide aromas but slightly tighter than the previous. Fuller still, the tannin hardly visible – complete – slowly fading in the finish. Love!
0.36 ha of roughly 50-year-old vines, planted north-south, in Champs-Traversins – Poulaillères nearby is all DRC, these vines in the domaine since 1996. A modest 3-4% slope and the current of air from the combe also keeps these vines cool in the recent hot summers. ‘I think the location here always exceeds the vintage variation.’ 31 August harvest and also all destemmed. ‘We have to work hard in the Clos de Vougeot but this place does it all on its own!’
A more vertical nose – floral perfumed in the top notes – a nose that pulls you towards the glass. Hmm – more structural – but what shape! Supple but almost chiselled too – then ultra-broad in the finish – year-in, year-out one of the greatest Echézeaux – this year despite the purity a little tight but I think still great wine.
Not divulging all its secrets – by far – but a larger expanse of aroma is visible here. Mouth-filling, the flavour is also a little guarded but mineral and becoming wider and wider over the palate – a wine that opens out wider and wider, becoming floral too. The fruit has cushioned all the aspects of the structure but be clear it’s here. The great terroirs are great in 2021 – bravo! Only after you have swallowed is there a late arriving wave of structural tannin that’s completely hidden in the wine…
Les Whites
“DIAM for us, now all Origine. It’s not just about consistency – which we now have – but it more importantly allows us to reduce the amount of sulfur. All the whites are still on their lees – zero battonage:”
Red earth but in a few centimetres you have the mother rock. Racked, filtered and for bottling in the next days.
Ooh – direct and vibrant – ripe but so energetic fruit. Vibrant, proper tension – such a complexity of agrumes. Ooh – complete wine!
From Tete de and Petit Clos.
More density, more flowers, no less energy. Vibrant – indeed dynamic – long narrow, still going – extra! Simply a beauty – bravo!
Domaine wines:
2021 Bourgogne Côte d’Or Chardonnay
Vines around the cuverie and domaine buildings, actually only the road and buildings separate it from Clos de la Barre. Concrete spheres (not an egg!) forms a large part of the elevage here, more than half. Bottled February – even here more than 12.5° natural
Clearly the aromatic volume is reduced here but this still a very fine invitation to drink. Another wine with wonderful energy. When you think how well this follows two great 1er – it’s clearly a great Bourgogne!
2021 Beaune 1er Les Grèves Blanc
0.53 hectares, 2009 was the first vintage after replanting from red, so these vines are more like 10 years old in the flatter base of Grèves where it’s a little more sandy. Bottled – these vines at the bottom of the hill – it’s always early starting its growth because of that it was ‘very, very late pruned’ – we had enough to fill the press, so…
A fuller, riper nose but with lots of floral anecdotes too – becoming more direct and vibrant with air. Full, concentrated – tons of energy. A generous but still structured wine – with orange bitters and super length. Super Beaune Blanc…
A blend of Clos de la Feguine, Champimonts and Coucherias – altogether a ‘small press’ from over 2 hectares of vines.
Narrower, more airy still very attractive. More direct, sinuous and juicy – even a salinity. Crystalline wine – next level – great wine! Almost a small chalky finishing texture.
2021 Meursault Clos de Mazeray
Not yet bottled – 15 more days – and the smallest production ever that they know…
A super hit of width and freshness – more citrus skin than florals. Super direct, a middle of generosity and maturity (13.2°) but still energy to go with that density. Very fine and long …
Not bottled.
Ooh – that’s got a special, higher class, vibration of aroma. A little gas still here – but broad, juicy and mouth-filling – complex – super Santenots – bravo – the best I ever tasted here!
1.497 hectares. Also waiting to bottle. 8 barrels – it’s very rare that Combettes frosts – there was none in 2016 but in 2021 it was ravaged…
Nice width an a super-attractive complexity of fruit and flowers. Mouth-filling – density but still energy. Melting over the palate – ultra-silky texture. For the ultimate, I’d like this to be slightly less generous – but if you wait 3+ years you may have that – already simply excellent but also potentially great!
From 2 parcels, one classic hillside and the other by Dents du Chien – forming 0.586 ha. Racked last week – with the lees – of course not yet bottled.
A little disturbed from the racking but with good aromatic volume and an obvious core of concentration. Ooh! Now that has great shape and presence in the mouth – intense as the Combettes but a more fluid energy and shape to the wine in the mouth – clearly a step up. Great wine – of course – great Montrachet? We will see but it’s simply stunning wine – wonderfully direct and exceptionally long in the finish – as it should be!
Same stage as the Montrachet.
Less impact but a more involving width of wonderfully complex fruit and flower aromas today. Hmm – more structural – more chiselled – growing in intensity. A wine that follows Montrachet without a problem – clearly great CC! Simply fabulous!