Tasted in Saint Aubin with Director Technique Grégoire Pissot and Director of Marketing Florian Migeon.
Prosper Maufoux – Château de Saint-Aubin
3 Rue des Lavières
21190 Saint-Aubin
Tel: +33 3 80 20 68 71
www.chateau-st-aubin.com
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I previously wrote of this old name but I had the impression that it’s taken a while since then for their visibility to come to the fore. Today, however, with their very impressive base at the Château de St.Aubin and their presence this year at the Grand Maisons, Grands Crus tasting, it was time to take a deeper look…
In the 1960s-70s this was one of the most recognisable burgundy labels in the US – together with Joseph Drouhin & Jaboulet-Vercherre – but it was practically unknown in France because all its production was exported.
Today, based at the Chateau de St.Aubin, the official domaine has 14 hectares of vines, of which around 10 are currently in production, but the group to which they are attached (plus associated family estates – Famille Piffaut Vins & Domaines) as a whole have more like 200 hectares of vines in production.
Here, it’s predominantly white wine that’s produced and their main market today is still export – and still with the US in pole position – but with much less visibility than was once the case.
Winemaking is in the expensively restored Château together with its bedrooms and restaurant: the wines typically with longer ageing – ‘always a second winter.’ The château dates from around the 14th century but was lost to fire in the 19th – rebuilt in the current style it now houses the chambres d’hotes just across the courtyard from their wineshop, their restaurant, plus their cellars and cuverie.
The wines…
My immediate impressions were of reds that were more my style of wines than the whites – the quality is excellent in both colours but the flavour-presentation of the Côte d’Or whites is heavily influenced by barrel notes that are only becoming more discreet with the 2019 vintage. Of course, if you like plenty of caramel in your wine there’s no need to hesitate !!
2022 Domaine Vigne au Roy, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits
A family estate of 36 hectares is a source of red and white BHCDN and grapes for crémant. Tank elevage ‘and not too long for this cuvée to stay with the fresh pinot fruit.’
An airy width of aroma – some depth and faintly herbed spice. Rounder and more supple than the nose suggested, bright with an intensity of darker red fruit. Keep it a year or two as it has an almost sharp intensity but nothing hard…
2022 Prosper Maufoux, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune
A bit more than a hectare just above St.Aubin
A little lighter colour and a little more delicacy to this aroma – maybe as it had oak elevage. Silky, round – some balancing acidity but here is a juicy wine with a little extra balancing sucrosity that, today, you would drink a lot faster than the previous. Tasty !!
2020 Château St.Aubin, Santenay 1er Gravières
Extra depth and weight of aromatic energy – that’s nice !! This sits well in the mouth – broad, lots of scale, framed with some grainless, hardly drying tannin – the finish lip-smacking with small bitters and rather tasty – just an accent of barrel still in this finish but give it another year or two and you may no-longer notice. Super!
Les Whites
Not just DIAM but often DIAM30 here:
2022 Domaine London, Macon-Igé
A large family domaine here of 37 hectares – this from the lieu-dit Chateau London. 25% barrel elevage.
A core of ripe fruit that’s almost passion fruit/Mâconnais – but the passion fruit brings energy too. That’s beautifully fresh in the mouth – fine intensity that grows too. I love it !!
2020 Château St.Aubin, Santenay 1er Beaurepaire
A fresh width of aroma is rounded by a creamy barrel accent. Round in the mouth, still lots of freshness, creamy again – an oak that needs another 18 months to finesse but here is a super wine of balance and flavour energy.
2021 Château St.Aubin, St.Aubin
A tiny harvest after the frost so this includes all the domaine’s grapes from here, including the 1er crus.
Hmm – here’s a nose of sweet and sour – almost like a 2016 when young. In the mouth there’s a core of riper fruit again with the more acidic, mouth-watering expansion – passion fruit again, faintly creamy oak finishing. Still not ready – I’d wait two years.
2020 Château St.Aubin, St.Aubin 1er Clos du Château
In front of the cuverie of the château – this plot part 1er and part villages.
A narrower and deeper nose – almost vertical. Good flavour width and mobile too – but for my taste the mix of slightly exotic agrumes and the last elements of the buttery barrel elevage would not be my choice of wine. There remains a nice finishing energy with a suggestion of minerality – this is the most interesting part for me.
2020 Château St.Aubin, Puligny-Montrachet 1er La Garenne
Domaine vines.
A core of riper fruit but this is much more attractive today than the Clos du Château. Broad, mineral, vibrant and delicious – proper tension – today too much creamy oak for my palate but the last notes are cleaner and more interesting. This is a super wine but wait if you don’t like overt oak…
2019 Château St.Aubin, Meursault 1er La Piece Sous le Bois
This still has an accent of barrel but it’s very discreet now, allowing a small floral accent to rise from the glass – but still a little buttery/creamy. Supple, very Meursault, very concentrated too – the finish with buttery/creamy oak that almost reminds of the more white chocolate and lanolin that you find in 20-year-old wines. This was sealed with cork at that time – so I wouldn’t pin my own hopes on this being better in 5 more years…
2020 Château St.Aubin, Criots Bâtard-Montrachet
Cork again, the switch to DIAM was made in 2021…
Rounder – quite ample in the middle – a wine that keeps changing – improving – with air in the glass – more floral no overt barrel spoiling things. This has a great shape, melting over the palate – creamy but less aggressively flavoured with the barrel – maybe some floral acacia – but really fine presence that’s quite juicy in the finish. Concentrated but beautifully balanced all the same – excellent Criots !!