Tasted in Savigny with Colleen and Nick Harbour, 1 July 2020.
Maison Harbour
24 Rue Chanson Maldant
21420 Savigny-lès-Beaune
Tel: +33 6 95 59 08 55
www.maisonharbour.com
More reports on Maison Harbour
The team have moved house – two doors down the road – now if only they can connect to their old cellar underground! …
Colleen and Nick on 2018:
“It’s pretty much the same line-up as previously, but we have one new cuvée and the return of an old one – Meursault Villages. I definitely tried to push a few domaines to pick a little earlier though most of the domaines were quite reactive – that said, we’ve certainly got some extra richness in our 2018 wines, but fortunately with freshness too. All the reds were destemmed – we’re still fighting the urge to use whole-clusters! About 12k bottles produced in this vintage. Overall, I’d say it’s definitely the richest vintage we’ve seen – we started in 2013!”
The wines…
The fifth vintage I’ve tasted here. All the whites benefitting from aeration – starting compact but growing and then growing some more in the glass. I think that’s the team here’s implementation of DIAM but the wines are lovely – the reds too. Excellent across the board…
It was a February bottling for these 2018s:
2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Dominode
About 40-45-year-old vines. All destemmed.
A little herb, but only an accent over a darker cherry fruit. In the mouth that’s really very super – open, mobile a good and growing intensity of flavour. Long finishing – very long! This is super, despite the ripeness of the fruit – very 2018 here in the mouth.
2018 Pommard 1er Les Chanlins
Less aromatic impact but a good fineness of aroma – nicely complex and certainly it’s quite the invitation. Fresh and open like the Dominode but here the fruit’s a little crunchier and more complex – this is not just excellent, it’s delicious too!
2018 Corton
From secret location 😉 but from the 2020 vintage this is also organic certified.
Colour not too deep. The more compact nose of these first 3 with a faint accent of herb over fine and fresh ripe fruit. In the mouth this is rather driving and fresh – it’s a great energy with hardly any fat but properly structured without anything painful. A medium-term wine so have a bit of patience but this is very nicely shaped and made. Excellent again!
2018 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice
More depth of aroma and a certain, spiced, warmness to the nose – but nothing excessive in terms of the ripeness of fruit. Mouth-filling, silky, slightly touched by a reduction – but faint. Quite big finishing, this is lovely. Lovely persistence of flavour. Excellent – still seems a more medium timescale wine but very attractive…
2018 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Combe aux Moines
A little lighter colour. A very faint DIAM reduction here – this needs a bit of air. More width and density to the flavour, almost a faint prickle of gas, slowly moving over the palate, becoming more complex. Lots to find here – there’s lots of complexity. A wine I’d wait – with anticipation – 2-3 years for before returning.
2018 Charmes-Chambertin Aux Charmes
Hmm, now that’s got a fine aromatic depth – as had the 2017 here – faintly reductive again but less-so than the Combe. Beautiful in the mouth – fresh, wide, but also with a concentrated, or rather layered, delivery of lovely flavour – so much generosity. Charmes was a big success in 2018, this shows that too. I would hesitate to enjoy this wine already – while waiting for some of the previous.
Les Blancs…
2018 Bourgogne Chardonnay
This is from Vinzelles but the team are planning for a Bourgogne Côte d’Or from 2020.
Deep, fresh, a certain mineral aspect too. Hmm – nice in the mouth, more than you expect after the compact impression given by the nose – good energy, plenty of minerality – really good energy! Attractively wide layers of finishing flavour too – super.
2018 Santenay 1er Gravières Blanc
Relatively young vines, worked raisonée. ‘This was a miracle for us to find in 2016 when we had practically no volume – we took a chance – thank goodness – we love this parcel.’
Depth and width of deep aromas – it needs the help of some air to open more attractively – which it does. Lovely attack – there’s a width of flavour here – quite in the ripe citrus spectrum, faintly saline – lots of complexity. Long. Lovely wine…
2018 Meursault Petit Charrons
This nose starts a little tight but in a proper Meursault way with some faint ginger-spice – always with a freshness. Wide on the palate – a wine of freshness and drive, not fat. I like the bite to this wine – very Meursault finishing too – this is excellent. Really my style preference here.
2018 Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru
The same parcel the last 4 years.
You need to swirl, but eventually there’s an attractive clarity of pure citrus on this nose. Bigger than the ‘little Sharon’ but full of energy and plenty of minerality too – a big wine in shape but not at all oppressive or ‘fat.’ There’s certainly some oak to eat, but if you wish to avoid that give it 18-months to 3 years and you’ll be very happy – super length again.
There was a Chassagne en Remilly too, but it was already sold-out.