Tasted in Meursault with Nadine Gublin and Romain Pertuzot, 22 October, 2019.
Domaine Jacques Prieur
6 Rue des Santenots
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 23 85
www.prieur.com
Nadine on 2019:
“This year we started harvesting on 9 September – the Monday. The first week nearly was whites, we had to keep a close eye on things as with low yields the sugars were growing very fast – also due to concentration – there was plenty of tartaric acid this year. All done by the Saturday, the 21
Nadine on 2018:
“In 2018 the négoce label has expanded quite a bit. Our harvest started 29 August, the same as in 2017. All done in about 13 days with super maturity – phenolic and aromatic – again a very clean harvest. And the two colours had very similar maturity it wasn’t necessary to separate them. For the reds, 18 has a little more colour and even a touch more aromatic interest than 2005 – perhaps 2005 with more finesse.”
The wines…
There are great wines here, and of both colours. The reds are always darkly coloured here, so no change in 2018, the whites are rather elegant in style – even Montrachet and Charlemagne!
First, a selection of ‘maison’ wines:
2018 Santenay Clos Genet
One of the latest harvested areas, with quite high vines.
Wow – saturated in colour. Compact but good purity of aroma. Round, silky, full-flavoured – a little saline too. Long, very long.
2018 Santenay 1er La Comme
Unlike the last, this one of the first harvested – about one-third of whole clusters retained.
Deeply coloured again. More open and attractive with a little floral perfume. Lovely texture, more melting over the palate – delicious – density for sure but melting with a beautiful flavour.
2018 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
A large parcel of almost 1 hectare quite central in parcel, Grand Glos and Brussones and Biorette.
Ooh – that’s an even nicer nose, cassis and pure. Fuller, slighter more structural but all completely covered by the fruit. Lip-smacking flavour in the finish – such a lovely wine – be patient though!
2018 Volnay 1er Santenots
In Santenots Blanc – not near the Clos des Santenots, like the last all destemmed.
Again very dark if not quite saturated colour. The nose is another step in freshness and perfumed openness – lovely. Power here, but delivered in fine and fresh layers – finishing a little floral like the nose – to wait for but delicious fruit here already…
2018 Pommard 1er Platière
All destemmed
Almost transparent colour! The nose is fresh but also a little tighter – perfumed and inviting all the same. More open, with a fine and insinuating line of flavour, this is lovely – really lovely.
Now the domaine wines:
2018 Meursault Clos de Mazeray Rouge
About one-third whole cluster
Also a very nice nose – wide, with floral inflections. Full, more meaty style of wine – there was more structural panache in the Platière. But here’s a tasty mouthful of wine.
2018 Beaune 1er Clos de la Feguine
All destemmed – normal for this location
Deep colour. More compact, concentrated fruit but more red than black. Fresher, a nice volume to this wine in the mouth. Melting with a very nice fruit over the palate. A very balanced wine with no faults but I’m looking for a little more character.
All destemmed.
A wider and fuller nose – a hint of barrel smoke in the mix. Sleek, nice cool fruit, insistent flavour, long. That’s a great Beaune!
2018 Beaune 1er Champimonts
Like the other Beaunes, all destemmed.
A nose of width, slightly powdery fruit. More incisive again, fresher, some good layers of flavour here. Intense in the finish. More structural finishing than the Grèves – but long….
2018 Pommard 1er Charmots
No destemming
A nose with extra density, some wc perfume impression. Fresh – driving, relatively direct wine of well-mannered tannin with just a little finishing grab to the texture. A dry coating in the mouth and lip-smacking finishing flavour… Very Pommard – in a good way – and to wait for.
2018 Volnay 1er Santenots
Younger vines of the Clos de Santenots – now about 23 years old – all destemmed.
Deeply coloured. A density here but overlayed by a lovely freshness of perfumed fruit. Open, slowly melting with layers of attractive, faintly saline-edged fruit. Long finishing – very tasty wine…
All destemmed like the previous.
More depth of aroma – here the focus on plump, redder fruit. A more complete texture and with ultra-fine tannin – silky wine, slowly, quite minerally finishing. Refined wine of finesse yet really concentrated. For the patient – always this cuvée – but bravo!
There’s also a first vintage of Champans but forgot the sample – will decide later if they sell under that label.
About one-third wc.
Ooh – a deep and brooding nose – darker fruited, faintly spiced. Also a super texture here – mouth-filling without overt excess. The mid and finishing flavour is intense yet delivered with aplomb – wow!
2018 Clos de Vougeot
Again about one-third wc. Probably not ready to bottle before July next year.
Plenty of volume, a nose of complexity but currently lack of individual focus. I love the shape in the mouth – architectural, melting with fresh flavour, intense flavour – indeed that’s a great finish – hopefully a little more nuance will come with elevage – but tons of potential here!
2018 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
The young vines of Chambertin, about 23 like the Clos Santenots, and all destemmed.
There’s a certain weight of aroma, freshness too, but the top notes are less formed though hinting at floral. Mouth-filling, complex, faintly saline – a really fine shape in the mouth with a little astringence to the texture. Long and more delicate finishing, indeed mineral here. Structural wine this year, a good buy for the patient!
2018 Chambertin
All destemmed.
Fuller in the upper registers – there is still depth of aroma, but less pronounced. A more seamless delivery of texture and flavour – round on one hand, fresh on the other – silky on your third hand! The finish has more, more mouth-watering, more length, more complexity.
All destemmed.
All destemmed. Brooding, yet slowly complex and spiced, this is tightly wound but with much fresh density here. Seamless again – mouth-filling, not a massive impact – simply a presence – the finish becoming mineral and really finish is the wrong choice of words because this wine hardly seems to finish. Almost tight as a drum but clearly great!
0.36 ha of roughly 50-year-old vines, planted north-south, in Champs-Traversins – Poulaillères nearby is all DRC, these vines in the domaine since 1996. A modest 3-4% slope and the current of air from the combe also keeps these vines cool in the recent hot summers. ‘I think the location here always exceeds the vintage variation.’
Super deep coloured. Just a little more open – but not a lot – there’s a spiced width of aroma here. Supple, concentrated, yet still mouth-filling. There is the faintest textural grain of tannin but practically no astringency there is a long line into the finish, that’s slowly mouth-watering and a little more mineral. Also a wine for the long term – Bravo! Maybe my wine of the vintage in 2017 – this one’s not bad either 😉
Les blancs:
2018 Labruyère-Prieur, Pouilly-Fuissé
From Fuissé. This in tank after racking with its lees at the end of August. Probably bottle just before Christmas. A contract here since 2014.
A good depth of aroma here – no overt oak – ripeness of agrume. Bright, fresh, mobile and with good energy. Lovely intense finishing – almost juicy – Excellent!
2018 Labruyère-Prieur, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
Grand Clos and Tête de Clos
Fresh and vibrant – such an invitation from this wine. Driving, direct – some gas is partly responsible – flavour spreading out over the palate. Mouth-watering in the finish. Excellent wine!
2018 Labruyère-Prieur, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Champs Gains
Again a lovely nose of vibrancy and energy. More gas here, but very wide, nicely structured. The fruit has intensity and there’s a fine length of flavour. Very long…
Now the domaine wines:
2018 Bourgogne Chardonnay
Vines around the cuverie and domaine buildings, actually only the road and buildings separate it from Clos de la Barre.
A more structural nose, that at the same time suggests Meursault. Fresh, nicely energetic, layered, a touch of finishing salinity and citrus. Excellent.
2018 Meursault Clos de Mazeray
All the part-elevaged in foudres and old barrels. Currently it’s reacked with the lees – same as the Bourgogne – but not yet that part in new barrels.
A deeper nose, of ginger spice and a faint minerality. A little more central core and line of flavour with this wine, faint reduction in the middle but then it is gone again for the finish. Good stuff…
2018 Beaune 1er Choucherias Blanc
Was red but this is the first vintage since planting to white, the vines neighbouring Clos de la Feguine – ‘it’s all limesone here’ says Nadine.
Some depth and actually quite a fine top note. Airy, good volume, the mid-palate is open and modestly citrus in style. The finish is very lovely though the wine lacks a little impact in the middle – that should, I guess, come as the vines age!
2018 Beaune 1er Les Grèves Blanc
0.53 hectares, 2009 was first vintage after replanting from red, so these vines more like 10 years old in the flatter base of Grèves where it’s a little more sandy. The first harvested vines of this campaign.
More width of aroma with a little suggestion of pepper/spice too. Nice shape in the mouth with more density in the middle than the last. A super finish again, with intensity and fine citrus length – excellent!
2018 Beaune 1er Champs Piments Blanc
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, 1.19 hectares of white, with a majority of the elevage in foudres. Like the others, all but the new barrels have been racked but this is still the blend.
Hmm, the nicest nose yet – full, and inviting, edged with a hint of barrel for this one. Full, fresh but with lovely transparency as opposed to density. Layered, sweet, some barrel here. Certainly a lovely wine but wait for that oak to fade.
Planted in 1993. Direct south-facing so doesn’t get the direct first sun.
Hmm – a vertical nose – of depth and citrus height – very inviting. Some gas, but also transparency of fresh, fine citrus fruit. This is a beauty – lovely wine. Bravo!
From Pitures, next to d’Angerville. The vines were planted in 2000, 0.80 hectares.
A zen-like width of perfect Meursault spiced fruit – yes! Some gas – but this is open fresh and perfect Meursault – neither lite nor heavy – it hits the sweet spot, dancing over the palate. Delicious finishing easily the best wine so far – bravo!
2018 Meursault 1er Perrières
0.279 ha
Deep and concentrated nose but not heavy with a modest but present layer of Meursault spice. Wide, mouth-filling almost architecturally open, melting with flavour – a great finish! Excellent Perrières
1.497 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 – this the second wine harvested in 2018
Clearly from another place – pure, depth of flavour – really a super invitation. Energy, depth, complexity, almost effervescent, long, melting a wine of tension but also depth – bravo!
Here 0.1365 hectares. Most south and high section of Chevalier – close to Dents du Chien (of Chassagne)
Another almost vertical nose – there is depth but also plenty of fresh high tones – here the merest suggestion of reduction. Supple, concentrated, a wine in its shell today but with so many layers, and brilliant, slowly mouth-watering length with some dry extract. This will be great when it opens!
2018 Montrachet
From 2 parcels, one classic hillside and the other by Dents du Chien – forming 0.586 ha. It won’t be bottled before June…
Less density, more airy than the Chevalier there is both depth and delicacy here. Some gas. Wide, easily filling the mouth in seamless style – small but continuous finishing waves of flavour. Delicious and delicate the last notes. A beauty.
0.22 hectares near Ladoix, next to the vines of Lalou. Plain east facing with a very white soil, high on the hill under the trees. The last harvest of the domaine.
A different place again – fresh, a touch of aniseed even. Open, mouth-filling freshness but never extravagant, open like Clos de Vougeot, but of finesse – Vougeot style of structure but with finesse – I wouldn’t guess Charlemagne I think that this is so elegant – I don’t see the muscled minerality and structure – at least not today – 2/3 through the elevage. But this is still fabulous stuff!
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