Tasted in Meursault with Jean-Luc Vitoux, 01 November 2023
Domaines Belleville, de Saulx & Commaraine
4, rue du Clos de Mazeray
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 21 83
www.domainebelleville.com
Domaine’s Instagram
More reports for Domaine de Belleville, de Saulx & Château Commaraine
Jean-Luc on 2023:
“I’m happy with the volume – there was more white than red – and some sorting needed for the reds – mainly for shrivelled grapes – but not really for the whites.”
Jean-Luc on 2022:
“51 hl/ha average yield for the whites, 41 hl/ha for the reds in 2022, though nothing is bottled yet. Belleville has been certified organic since 2021 – our policy is one cuvée per plot and there are 23 plots!! In 22 we changed some of our agricultural practices – the pruning now in 2 steps with a definitive pruning in March – the height of the canopy is more now to help give us a little more sun-shade for the grapes. Our harvest started 23 Aug in Belleville and and just a bit later in Commaraine. Given the volume we have we now use a refrigerated container and sort later – but we try not harvest when it’s too hot. Still all destemmed.”
The constellation hare is Domaine de la Commaraine for the Côte d’Or wines, Domaine de Belleville for those of (mainly) the Côte Chalonnaise and Maison Les Parcellaires de Saulx which operates some small plots in Meursault plus other contracts – with the same philosophy as the domaine – so one plot, one cuvée – 40 different wines ranging from 1 to 6 barrels per lot. The winemaker here Isabelle Laurent. You may also be aware that this year (2023) the team here purchased Domaine Monthelie Douhairet Porcheret – most of those wines will be integrated into Domaine de la Commaraine, the rest – Monthelie mainly, will be labelled Domaine de Belleville.
The wines…
An ever-growing list of wines at this domaine – actually 3 legal entities – and wait until next year for even more! The quality is very good though…
2022 Belleville Rully La Crais Blanc
2.74 ha under the 1er Pucelle – currently in tank.
A big punch of forward aroma. Plenty of generosity but there’s a balancing intensity from good acidity. A cushion of oak but not too strong. Tasty wine.
2022 Belleville Mercurey Villerange Blanc
Close to the border with Rully
Deep, vibrant, lots of pineapple ripeness here. Wider, silkier and more intense – a little more direct finishing too – I like!
2022 Belleville Rully 1er Les Clous Blanc
More width of freshness. Hmm – more direct again and also more intense. There is still some richness but I really like a little finishing minerality here. That’s super.
More vibrant nose – still a little of the pineapple ripeness. Yes – extra mineral and extra direct – still a richness of fruit but I think this more than excellent wine with a little finishing zestiness – bravo!!
Les Reds:
2022 Belleville Rully 1er Chaponnières
Hmm – now that’s vibrant and fresh – even a suggestion of graphite minerality. Broad, fresh – really mouth-filling – that’s an excellent villages! I love the slightly austere attack and small finishing butters. Tasty energy here!
There’s more floral perfume here – a clear ‘extra.’ More calm, a little more fluid too. Overall a small step up in class – bravo! The finish still broad and filled with complex bitters.
A good fresh width that incorporates some floral perfume too. Direct, cool and mouth-watering – the flavour with good intensity and insinuating excellent flavour. Lovely length with a small hint less of the bitters… That’s another great wine…
2022 Belleville Santenay Les Hâtes
An open and pretty width of red fruit with suggestions of flowers. More sophisticated texture and a fine line of intensity – simply a very classy and delicious wine.
Les Parcellaires de Saulx Whites:
Whites in tank since July:
2022 De Saulx, St.Aubin En l’Ebeaupin
Fresh wide, less ready but lots of complexity. Silky, mobile, the oak apparent eventually grained – I like the shape – and there’s still plenty of richness here.
2022 De Saulx, Meursault Pré de Manche
Next to Santenots – the vines are 50-year-old. Owned vines now and started conversion to organic in 2023.
Good impact of aroma, faintly spiced. Mouth-filling, and with cool flavour that melts well over the palate. A good, tasty Meursault – that finishes very well and slightly stony.
2022 De Saulx, Monthelie 1er Les Duresses
Higher toned – there’s energy here too – almost white flowers. Plenty of gas today but a wine of mineral energy too – the finish is particularly good – perfumed with tons of citrus energy and fine clarity – this is a simply excellent wine.
Les Parcellaires de Saulx Reds:
2022 De Saulx, Pernand 1er En Caradeaux
Less large but more intense and potentially finer nose. No overt gas this time – indeed a texture of silk. Some finishing generosity to this flavour but it’s never fat – finishing with a fine fading, contemplative finish. Delicious.
2022 De Saulx, Aloxe-Corton 1er Les Guerets
What colour! Here is some power – more of a core of wine that a width – but not cooked. Vibrant – even a little floral – a textural drag from this tannin but there’s no grain. Broad and tasty – here with almost a suggestion of grain – more velour style here – tons of flavour – yum!
2022 De Saulx, Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles
Higher toned – airy classy and open – I like the clarity of this vs the Aloxe. Fresh, vibrant wine – with a super middle intensity – that’s a lovely wine – very fine Gevrey villages – and you can see the higher altitude here.
Very perfumed – that’s very lovely – this not yet racked. More mouth-filling, the energy the complexity – the very perfumed flavours are super-expressive. A top 1er – just so delicious and perfumed. Bravo!
2022 De Saulx, Clos de Vougeot
A smaller volume of aroma – the style of complexity recalls the proximity of Vosne with a small granularity to the complexity – a suggestion of floral perfume but it’s still quite tight here. Hmm – there is a well-covered structure but clearly the architecture is different here. Austere is a word that I have no need to use in the context of modern CV yet this is clearly less ready – but the shape is very fine – Wait 10 years…
And to finish, the wines of Domaine Commaraine:
The construction is going forward for the hotel – 37 rooms with 2 restaurants and 1 spa with a swimming pool. It should be up and running by 2025:
2022 Commaraine, St.Aubin 1er Murgers des Dents de Chien Blanc
Vines on fermage – 1.5 ha – one-third was (now uprooted) pinot but with court noué so are leaving fallow for 7 years.
Vibrant ripe yellow citrus. Some richness and growing more complex and intense. I felt it needed more energy at the start but don’t for the finish. Complex, impressive wine – and as (so far) not sulfured, I think it will be sleeker and more impressive by the time its bottled. Will move to tank in the next couple of weeks for bottling in March. The potential to be excellent.
2022 Commaraine, Chambolle-Musigny Les Condemenes
Bought in 2020 – first labelled vintage for here in 2021.
Good width of freshness – an almost seamless quality here. A little tannic drag to this texture but it’s complex – mouth-filling concentrated but still full of fresh energy. Whilst not obviously Chambolle I think it excellent in its dark-fruited style and the finish is a little more relaxed and floral.
2022 Commaraine, Nuits St.Georges 1er Aux Bousselots
Bought at the same time as the previous parcel.
Here the oak is more overt – lots of spiced complexity. Mouth-filling more open and fluid but still framed by the tannic structure. Extra finishing intensity if less-so ‘deliciousness’. Very good
2022 Commaraine, Nuits St.Georges 1er Roncières
Less obvious aromatic oak with a sleeker width to the aroma. Sleeker in the mouth too – I love this fluid slightly more juicy style – the tannin is subtle if still framing the flavours. Finishing broad and complex. That’s a lovely wine.
2022 Commaraine, Pommard 1er Clos de la Commaraine
The clos has been divided into 8 sub-plots due to soil and indeed vine differences – now adapting their practices by plot – some worked by horse with old massale selections (1957) other parts have grass but the horse-managed part the grass competes too much with the vines – in other places not. In some less qualititaive areas they will sur-greffe with some old massale selections. Vintage depending, some parts of the clos can be picked 7 days later than the first part. Previously Reine Pedanque and Jadot worked the vines for a time.
A fine and floral width – cool and precise – I like it a lot. Cool in the mouth – I like again – the same 50% new oak as the previous reds but hardly visible for this one. Architectural but more a texture of velour – not drying. Complex and with a subtle extra finishing complexity too – very good length. Certainly an excellent wine potentially even more so!