Tasted in Gamay with Didier Larue, 22 October 2015.
Domaine Larue
32, rue de la Chatenière
21190 St.Aubin
Tel: +33 3 80 21 30 74
www.larue-vins.com
Whatever the address might say/imply, this domaine is to be found in Gamay. The domaine exploits 15 hectares of vines across Chassagne-Montrachet, St.Aubin and Puligny-Montrachet. Didier Larue works alongside his brother Denis, and, since 2006, Denis’s son, Bruno.
Didier on 2014 and 2015:
Of the 2014s, just three are in bottle so far, others were assembled one week ago. Didier is very happy with his 14s, but describes the 2015s as amazing, “13.5% but 3.2 pH – incredible – 2003 was different, it had normal temperatures in August, the heat that year was really in July, before the grapes were fully formed. In 2015, lots of village reds have the full (maybe more!) authorised levels for alcohol. The fermentations were fast.”
The UK, Japan, Netherlands and Belgium, plus the restaurants of France are the main markets for these wines.
The wines…
A really good discovery here. The wines are very direct and mineral, so don’t come here looking for oak and extraneous textural padding. Here is pure wine – they are relatively strict versus many other producers in 2014, but not for example versus 2013s in general…
2014 St.Aubin
From 2 parcels, one near the village of St.Aubin and the other from Vermarain.
Wide with quite some depth, a herby width. In the mouth this is is much more interesting with fresh citrus fruit – with bite – and a wide, tasty palate of citrus led flavour. Quite tasty.
2014 St.Aubin 1er les Combes
Nearly 0.5 hectres. Towards the limit with Chassagne, more clay soil, usually the 1er that’s first open and the most accessible.
Deep, complex, some herb and plenty of interest. More incisive, more intense, faintly cushioned. A modest mineral inflection to the citrus this time. A good line of flavour in the finish too. Lovely…
2014 St.Aubin 1er les Cortons
On the hill above gamay next to En Remilly.
Wide, a hint herb or cheese? Ooh this is nice, lithe, direct, mouth-watering flavour fringed with minerality. A good line of flavour that even widens a little in the finish.
2014 St.Aubin 1er La Chatenière
A small cuvée of 700 bottles in bio. Only young vines – 5 years old.
A nose that is again a little herby with some warmth, slowly opens bringing a little prettier fruit. Again with a modest richness that only slows a little the intensity of flavour – certainly a little rounder but with beautiful layers of pretty flavour in the finish.
Mainly 20% new oak used here.
A large cuvée here 25+ barrels from 5 parcels planted between 1946 and 1997.
Deep almost textured with a reductive, mineral suggestion. Lovely in the mouth – energy but not too much, intensity but not too much – minerality too. Everything in its place, everything in harmony here.
Close to 0.4 hectares planted in 1989.
Faintly reduced, perhaps, but very impressively complex. It completely fills the mouth, faintly cushioned, but only faintly, beautiful growing flavour. This is a beauty, like all these it’s a citrus acidity, and it’s delivered impeccably.
2014 Chassagne-Montrachet
0.3 hectares with lots of young vines.
Pretty, complex, high-toned – is this sounding like a broken record? (I realise the younger amongst you might not understand that!). Clearly different in the mouth – a bigger scaled wine in the mouth with more modest intensity but still here a nice complex, essentially Chassagne flavour. Tasty wine. It finishes well too.
2014 Puligny-Montrachet Les Trezin
A nose of width, textured width, but not particularly open. Fills the mouth, faintly reduced, modestly cushioned, pretty, fresh, citrus-infused flavour. Nice in the finish, here, a little wider and more fruit focused.
2014 Puligny-Montrachet 1er La Garenne
Almost 0.6 hectares, planted between 1946 and 1977.
Lovely depth of aroma here, it’s a mineral/reductive aroma but lovely. Excellent width of flavour. Growing freshness and acidity, this is very pretty indeed in the finish. It’s not a massive wine, not a super powerful wine, but it delivers fine elegant flavour. I like this very much.
2013 Puligny-Montrachet 1er La Garenne
Bigger rounder, almost a hint of riesling petrol. Bigger in the mouth, more intense and direct, also more energy in the finishing flavour. This is very tasty wine.
Les Rouges…
2013 Aloxe-Corton les Cras
Recovered in this vintage. Before Rapet – 1.2 hectares.
Lovely open red fruit nose, with a lovely floral aspect. This is a good wine, not the depth (sometimes too much depth) of many from Aloxe, but it grows with freshness and lip-smacking flavour. Slowly fading. Modest colour, but a far from modest wine.
2013 Corton Perrières
Old vines, more than 50 years, first vintage.
Big, open, brightly fresh red fruit, very nice detail here. Its fresh in the mouth too, but with a growing undertow, indeed weight of flavour. Detail, detail, detail – lovely, finely focused wine that’s direct but never heavy.