Tasted in Beaune with Thibaut Marion, 01 December, 2015.
Domaine Seguin Manuel
2 Rue Arquebuse
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33 3 80 21 50 42
www.seguin-manuel.com
Thibaut on 2015:
“Harvest was almost too easy. Not really challenging to make the wines – we were hoping to make a bit more volume but we still had less than expected. Quantities apart, there’s nothing to say about the vintage. We could pick in a short time as most grapes were mature at the same time. 8.5 hectares were picked within a week, though with a bigger team. We picked everything before the rain.”
Thibaut on 2014:
“2014? It was the best ever – was that a good Bordeaux accent?” He laughs, “We have some new wines in the range. We were lucky in 2014 that none of the plots were injured by suzukii. All our vines are organically grown, so aeration was good after leaf thinning. I like the vintage, no over ripeness, good structure, very classic. For many years we didn’t have a classic vintage, they were always ‘over… something’ – 14 seems a mix of 12 and 13, maybe closer to 12.”
The wines…
Whilst some of the reds were aromatically ‘samey’ – this was more of a function of their stage in elevage – but they tasted great. I’ve always considered this a red wine domaine – I’ve been a customer myself – but this year the whites which I’ve previously found quite rich were really singing. A great job. There are not many domaines where the reds and whites are equally good.
2014 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
One plot from the Pommard area plus Volnay, Chorey and Hautes Côtes de Beaune, bottled at the end of August – 20k bottles.
Round yet a little tight, warm but nice red fruit. Pow! Big, bright, wide, everything that the nose isn’t – lots of detail and lovely intensity, indeed very fine texture too. Very yum! Lots of mouth-watering finishing flavour too. Excellent.
2014 Mercurey Vieilles Vignes
Just one parcel, to be bottled very soon.
The nose has some depth and is a little mineral inflected. More direct and incisive – more intense too. A beautiful line of flavour in the finish. Again, super!
70 yo vines from 3 plots at the bottom of the hill, lots of small stones and good drainage – first harvested in 2014.
Deep, faintly herbed, deep red fruit. A little more mp weight, complex, fine acidity. Silky texture. Well-done. Waves of flavour. Excellent
2014 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Lavières
Bottled 2 weeks ago.
Deep, faintly herbed, hints of phenolics. Very wide on the palate, fresh and with waves of flavour – still very fine texture, just a hint more padded. Yum! Bright notes that linger well.
2014 Pommard Petits Epenots
Villages – a tiny plot on the continuity of the 1er cru.
Again a family nose here, some deep fruit, some herb and a faintly phenolic impression. Rounder but very fresh, complex, energetic and long too – bravo!
2014 Beaune 1er Cents Vignes
A tighter ball of slightly darker fruit. More relaxed over the palate, yet with a hint more (very silky) tannin. Lovely extra dimension of mid-palate flavour – excellent. These wines are tasting brilliantly – just the aromatics are a bit samey…
2014 Gevrey-Chambertin
One parcel from Brochon.
Here the nose has wider high tones, more depth but a narrower depth, almost floral. Bright, beautifully fresh, a good width of flavour not as complex as the Beaune, but with a little more backbone. Very good! Slowly mouth-watering dark fruit…
A 1.8 hectare plot – second vintage. 20% whole clusters (also in Lavières) ‘But didn’t use much in 14 – in 15 I did more.’
Nice depth and has the typical voice of Vosne. A wide, complex and interesting palette of flavour. The tannin is exerting itself just a little more, but still it’ more of a textural drag than a grain. A floral flavour element in the finish. Super!
2014 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Charmes
A faintly herbed top layer over a deeper, riper red core of fruit. A hint of reductive flavour, but lots and lots of complexity here. Fresh, lithe and lovely texture with just a hint of padding. A bright burst of finishing flavour too. Very good!
2014 Echézeaux
En Orveaux.
A complex nose that goes deeper than most. Really a mouth-full of interest, and complexity and energy, just a hint of barrel/coffee in the finishing flavours but nicely textured, stays with a super width of finishing flavour. Excellent.
2014 Clos de Bèze
Really a complex width of aroma – it goes deep too. Big, enveloping, but not fat despite a hint of plushness to the texture. Really complex in the mid-palate, and the mouth-watering finish is really superb. Fine wine!
Les Blancs…
Mostly the villages are already bottled. The volume is 40% white at this domaine, but there are more smaller cuvées than for red. The debourbage has been changed a little, before the juice was much cleaner, now more bourbe are retained. Note that the cuverie is now all stainless-steel and temperature controlled.
2014 Bourgogne Chardonnay
From the commune of Meursault.
Wide and fresh with a little salty complexity. Nice texture, big in the mouth – a high level of gas to start with – but really a nice mid-palate intensity and roundness. I like the finish very much!
2014 Viré-Clessé
More high tones, more ripe fruit. Pineapple fruit, but freshness and ripe intensity – it’s a good combination. More mineral, nicely interesting finish. On the riper shade of wines yet very well-balanced.
Nice and fresh – good width (these first three were bottled at the beginning of the summer). I like this nose very much. Direct, mineral, mouth-watering, growing intensity. Excellent wine. Lovely texture and finishing complexity. Really long.
2014 Rully Vieilles-Vignes
From 40 year-old vines and the next wine to be bottled in the next days.
Quite a mineral top note, guarded, tighter ripe fruit below. A hint of gas but a beautiful line of flavour here – wow – a beauty. The finishing flavour is a hint more intense and more acid-shaded, yet perfectly textured. Super wine. Holds a long and intense note…
2014 Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Goudelettes
Comeback vintage after 100% hailed in 2013.
Mineral and with good width. More incisive still, with good complexity and intensity. Super wine!
2014 Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes
One parcel in Gougones bottled just before harvest.
Deeper with a toasted bread note. Fresh, concentrated. Flavours that grow in intensity. Lovely mid-palate growth of intensity and the slowly fading finish. Excellent.
From the northern part of the appellation, near the cemetery, close to Meursault. Domaine vines.
A very fine, fresh, yellow fruited nose. Wide, silkily textured, intense, growing flavour intensity. Beautiful growth of finishing flavour. Bravo! Very precise.
The villages wines above have 20-25% new oak.
From Clos du Cromin.
Wide, ginger spice, fresh – classic Meursault. Nice in the mouth with really a very fine complexity, the texture is silky smooth and the performance memorable!
2014 Beaune 1er Clos des Mouches
Also the comeback vintage as 100% lost in 2013. Okay, there are comebacks and comebacks – still only 7 hl/ha…
Deep, cushioned nose of citrus but also fine freshness and complexity. Fills the mouth, but no fat here, just considered energy and freshness. Rather a mineral aspect to the finishing flavours. Super wine.
2014 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Les Vergers
A deeper nose with some padded depth and an added barrel complexity. Whatever the nose might have suggested, here is intensity, minerality and fine energy. The fruit is ripe but not fat. Just a big, joyful mouth-full of wine. Excellent!
Wide and fresh, yellow citrus almost waxily textured. Lovely. Fresh, mineral, incisive citrus. Loud and linear finishing flavour. Joyous!
From En Charlemagne
Some high tones, a more impressive width of bass notes. A big wine, mouth-filling, but there’s no fat just mouth-watering, intensely flavoured, concentrated wine. Lovely, lovely finishing flavour that’s complex and detailed. Great wine here, seriously.