Tasted in Meursault with Nadine Gublin, the 4 November, 2016. Due to a miscommunication (me!) only the whites were prepared to taste – so I’ll have to go back to taste the reds – it’s a tough life…
Domaine Jacques Prieur
6 Rue des Santenots
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 23 85
www.prieur.com
Nadine on 2016:
“A belle surprise! The quality of the grapes was super. We started harvesting on the 20th September, in beautiful conditions, quite idyllic. We produced what we expected, volumes, but we had brilliant grapes in Côte de Nuits. We see fine tannin – looks like it could be a characteristic of the vintage. Certain vineyards such as Puligny Combettes, Corton Bressandes, had no frost here was almost a 2009 harvest volume, still with finesse and fine tannin. The sun burned off a lot of malic acid, but we still see a good fresh acidity.
The whites are slowly finishing their alcoholics and I see fine maturity, plenty of tartaric, and wines that are direct and precise – it looks like a chiselled vintage. We lost about 50% volume in the Côte de Nuits, we lost more than in 2013 and 2014, less than in 2015, maybe we were 40% down in total.”
Nadine on 2015:
“There is refreshment in most 15s and personally that is an essential.”
Nadine on DIAM:
Since 2013 we started bottling with DIAM closures. In 2014 it was 100% DIAM for whites; 55mm DIAM10 for the majority and DIAM30 for the last 3 wines. It’s simply not acceptable when wines are only 10 years old, great wines, that some are dead and others perfect – just look at the prices. For reds I don’t see that problem, they have their tannins and anthocyanins et-cetera, it’s not a need. We need about 10mg less sulfur for DIAM, but that’s the nature of the closures. Of-course it was radical for us, and I wasn’t a fan at the start, but it was the right decision.
The wines…
Not all wines are racked yet and Nadine says that racking is too big a word her for this; the more important wines, retain pretty much all their lees when they go into the tank. The amount of lees retained is sometimes only a function of the level of reduction of each wine.
Frankly super wines here; a mix of already excellent and the potentially excellent.
2015 Labruyere-Prieur Selection, Puilly-Fuissé
We buy only grapes and vinify everything. In 2016 we also harvested these grapes. This is racked and now in tank, it was racked around the harvest.
Ooh, this is not quite ready, but it’s a beguiling, round, yellow citrus nose that really pulls you in. Lithe, a little muscle, but with almost a hint of tannin, and quite enough freshness if not overt energy. Really open-ended finishing. This is a super wine, only about 10% new oak, no battonage. Excellent potential. Probably to bottle just before Christmas.
2015 Bourgogne Chardonnay
Vines behind the domaine buildings in Meursault – roughly 1 hectare that’s effectively across the road from the Clos de la Barre – but still 50m away given the buildings…
Bright, fresh and open – really attractive. Started in foudres, some wood. A hint mineral, nicely textured, super weight, a stony mid-palate flavour and a fine line. Super bourgogne!
2015 Meursault Clos du Mazeray
2/3rds vinified in 33hl foudres plus barrel. A parcel, just below Goutes d’Or, a 3ha parcel. Like the last wine, this has been racked into tank.
A deeper nose, a hint of lime, a hint of reduction. A hint of gas, but a live wine, super intensity of flavour in the mid-palate. Slowly fading. A very tasty wine, and clearly worthy Meursault.
Young vines from the bottom of the slope. the only white Beaune this year as the others were close to 90% hailed, this also 70%… From Marriages just on the northern side of the road that goes to the hut of l’Enfant Jesus; the whites on the more gravelly base, reds higher on the slope. In 2016 Champs Pimont had a little frost, Clos de la Feguine none, here all was lost…
Now all samples from barrel, not racked.
A deep, nose of freshness and complexity – a hint of mineral excitement here. Lithe, layered, waves of flavour, some salinity – bravo! Really super wine! Still young vines, the first vintage was 2009 but this is still gorgeous. Really a wine of personality.
2015 Beaune 1er Clos de la Feguine
Chardonnay on the top of this vineyard, facing toward pommard, planted in 1993.
A more open nose, wider, lots of faintly spiced complexity. Fine freshness, silken texture, a little more oak in the flavour, but not much. A nice bright line of finishing flavour that slowly decays. Also a super wine, a hint more oak character, I prefer the Greves today, fine as this is…
Chardonnay also at the top of this vineyard. A soil with a lot of white clay which could be compared to Charlemagne. Prieur have 3 hectares here, 1 of which is planted with chardonnay.
A wide of aroma, perhaps less depth, but with a fine and clear citrus fruit element. Lithe, fresh, mineral, not a wine of fat texture. Lots of points of fresh complexity – this is really a super wine – complex, attention-holding. Excellent! A faint hint of reduction in the last flavours, but only there. Super wine!
Only 1 barrel, from very old vines and sometimes there’s not enough grapes for a barrel, lots of degeneration of the vines here, this the last vintage as is now being replanted. Top right corner of charmes dessous across from genevrieres. A one year old barrel.
A wide nose, some cushioning to the texture, ripe lemon notes bubble below the surface. Hmm. Freshness, mouth-filling flavour. Some mineral aspects here. A powerful but never heavy wine, ingraining complexity, another bravo! Simply excellent…
From Pitures. The vines were planted in 2000, almost 1 hectare. Another type of Meursault! 2000 was the first vintage with these vines and its now starting to get interesting!
Fresh and saline nose – clearly an invitation not to refuse. Much more gas, so wait… silky, a hint of tannin, a long line of flavour, with depth, then a mouth-watering finish. Completely different. I honestly can’t directly say that it’s Meursault when comparing to the Charmes, but I can say that it is fabulous!
2015 Meursault 1er Perrières
This will get 6 months more before bottling, three or four more in barrel before tank. – grand cru elevage here says Nadine.
Hmm, quite a large and round nose here, though there is a lot contained within – some herb, some citrus too. A wine of width and transparency. Growing depth of flavour – mouth-watering flavour. Slow, long waves of flavour. Needs a hint more elevage to bring the final precision – but this may indeed be very special – it’s a wine to wait for.
2015 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Combettes
One part of elevage in foudres, another part in barrel. 1.49 hectares. A very sunny a vineyard that is one of the first to be harvested – ‘The maturity comes quickly and then its time of go…’
Ooh! That’s nice! Fresh, complex, soft but not soft-focus, some pretty lemon hints too. A little gas, but a melting flavour, lots of citrus but with a weight of extract too that’s faintly tannic, and wide in perspective. I love the flavour here… there is just a certain reserve today, lets see if it remains…
From right at the top of the vineyard.
A vibrant nose, a mineral nose – it can only be from a great and mineral terroir. In the mouth, there is plenty of volume, lots and lots of mouth-watering complexity – like the Perrières this needs more elevage to bring out the absolute definition/precision, but this has a magnificent mid-palate flavour. I have plenty of confidence here given the open-ended peacock-tail finish. Really fabulously long…
2015 Montrachet
From 2 parcels, one classic hillside and the other by Dents du Chien. 50% lost in 2016. But still more than 3 barrels were harvested so they didn’t join the 2016 Montrachet-Coop!
Wide and deep, fresh and with a subtle complexity – you may not guess Montrachet, but now you have something special in your glass. Fresh in the mouth too – it starts with okay volume but gets bigger and bigger – not a wine of fat, a wine of finely defined muscle and a mid-palate and finish that expands and expands. Fresh, faintly mineral and subtly but superbly complex in the finish – this could be quite good 😉
2015 Corton-Charlemagne
Next to the vines of Lalou, plain east facing with a very white soil under the trees. Sometimes the grapes eaten by the wild boars! ‘It’s a different universe, I always serve at the end. I’m not planning to rack before April, this probably won’t be bottled before June – a wine under construction’ says Nadine. ‘Simply a young adult…’
Deep, riper fruit, but fresh and mineral too – in the mouth, wait for the gas, but this has much more volume than the Montrachet today, energy too – there’s more oak in the mix here, and a longer line of broader flavour. Really bigger in the finish – less elevage needed here, it’s closer to being ‘ready.’ Faintly tannic in the length, salty tannin. Super…