Tasted with Claude Muzard in Santenay, 13 September 2016.
Domaine Lucien Muzard et Fils
11, bis rue de la Cour Verreuil
21590, Santenay
Tel. +33 (0)3 80 20 61 85
Hervé was in the vines, popping in to say ‘hi’ later-on, Claude took the tasting, suggesting to come back to taste 15s in 2-3 weeks, but (of-course) our various harvests got in the way of that. Talking of the 2016 harvest…
Claude on 2016:
“2016 looks good, not much juice as not much rain, but all in all pretty good, only Santenay Champs Claude near Chassagne was a little frosted. We plan to start on Saturday the 24th, with Santenay Clos Tavannes, which is quite ripe. A lot of others are currently about 11°
“Santenay should be quite quick to harvest, but the others that had frost will depend on individual plot maturity. These will probably be the last to be harvested…”
A short word on 2015:
“Really good in red. The whites we decidied to block some the malos, but overall our volume was about normal. We refused to acidify the whites.”
And as we’re tasting 2014s:
“2014 a good ‘typicité’ year for both colours. Not too much work was needed in the cuverie. We have fine fruit with good tannins for the reds. Very easy to appreciate young so I’d describe it as a commercial millesimé. The whites are super and have better balance than in 2015.”
The wines…
Use a little screw-caps here – a mere 30,000 bottles worth(!) but only for the Bourgogne and a couple more appellations. 60% of production is currently exported; lots in France goes to to cavistes and restaurants.
2014 Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles-Vignes
Just one parcel of 80 year-old vines on a ‘very clay’ soil near Morgeot. A cool maceration for a week in this case.
A warm red-fruited note, a growing perfume too. Bright, a growing intensity in the middle and with super balance. Opens out in the mid-palate and into the finish. Herby, long and interesting. A great start.
2014 Santenay 1er La Maladière
An important parcel of 5 hectares for the domaine. 20 to 50 year-old vines, averaging-out at about 30.
A little lighter aroma, but with a more velvet impression of texture. Silkier, a bright core of fruit again, really an intensity of flavour in the mid-palate, here growing lots of concentration – a little oak complexity in the finish, interesting complexity rather than masking. Yum!
Near Gravières; a ‘well sited’ 1.5 ha with just a little white too.
A tighter nose, a little lighter colour too. Slowly growing, again with padded aromatics – probably oak-aided. A wider impression of flavour on the palate, delivering intensity but more of a width than a line like he last wines. A fine mouth-watering finish. This is really super, a faint but decaying bitterness in the finish. Excellent! The last drops in the glass have a beautiful fruit.
Also near Clos Faubard. The name has a similar origin to Beaune – beehives…
Big, deeply fruited but with a certain elegance too – this is very inviting. Lithe, nice energy, layered delivery of flavour. A super mouth-watering line of flavour – excellent again!
A tighter, redder red fruit. But slowly opening with a really fine top note – gorgeous! Again lithe, mobile and energetic without excess – lots of perfumed fruit flavour and a really modest base of tannin. Complex finishing – this is my new favourite!
2014 Santenay 1er Clos de Tavannes
Just Vincent Girardin with a little white here, the rest is all red.
Deeper colour. The nose is a littler tighter and darker, but seemingly alive and silky. Lithe, energetic muscle here. Perhaps the mid-palate concentration might hint at Chassagne from a texture perspective, but the actual flavours not – dark, floral-inflected fruit, long finishing. Could it be Volnay? – this has more in common with that than Chassgne I think. Super.
The whites:
2014 Santenay Champs Claude
A mix of 10 and 25 year old vines, a little battonage during fermentation then none. Did some all tank elevage for a part in 2015 to try and keep some freshness.
A deep nose, with almost a sweet toffee accent to the perfumed yellow fruit. A little fat to the texture but then waves of acid-led flavour cut through to make this very appealing indeed.
Bought in 2011. One part on high from 1920, 1990 and 2001 the other parts. Vines sited in the direction of Auxey.
Wow – directly a classic Meursault nose with some freshness accented with a little gingerbread. Round but perfectly balanced, slowly arriving waves of flavour, accented minerality and brightness of acidity. Layered – oops, I forgot myself and swallowed – super!
Bought grapes from a producer in Pernand. 3 barrels, one new, two are 1 year old.
A little toasty oak here, a vibration to the aromatic with some minerality and accent of reduction. Really a mineral wine in the mouth, layered and hyper-complex, the oak on the nose is now a memory – until a little cream appears – but there is so much here that I don’t focus on it very long. Top wine!