Tasted in Morey St.Denis with Cyprien Arlaud, 18 November, 2016.
Domaine Arlaud Père et Fils
41 Rue Epernay
21220 Morey St.Denis
Tel: +33 3 80 34 32 65
www.domainearlaud.com
Cyprien on 2016:
“Like everyone, the frost and heat at the end of August were the main points to note of the vintage. Clearly we have much lower quantity in Bourgogne and Chambolle, but Vosne and Morey saw much less frost. The vintage started very complicated and was a big challenge for everybody – but in the end it was a good surprise for the quality. Finally it was a good result.”
Cyprien on 2015:
“The particularity of 2015 was the temperature – high temperature. Sometimes about 40 degrees and very dry. We had no mildew, but a little oïdium. It was important not to harvest too early as there had been a little blockage of maturity due to water stress – we started on the 7th September. The rain – 70mm worth which came in two storms – helped to keep to the balance of the vintage. Overall harvest volumes were similar to 2013 – i.e. quite good for a dry vintage – 30-35 hectolitres per hectare.
“Here I would say that there’s not much resemblance to 2005; we have a freshness and line that’s hyper-classic – even if I’ve never tasted wines like it before – in some cases it’s not possible to ask for better! The year is naturally concentrated and rich so it wasn’t necessary to extract! Most of the old vines found the minerality in 2015, indeed I’m surprised to find how much salinity there is in some 2015s”
The wines…
Only one wine racked so far, the rest all still in barrel. In December Cyprien will rack the Bourgogne, and the rest will be done, starting in February. A little less new wood was used in 2015. “I prefer this way in warm vintages,” noted Cyprien.
Cyprien has delivered less fleshy wines here, but backend-loaded with fruit flavour of great precision – wines with a little structure, but also a beautiful clarity and freshness! Just a great range!
2015 Bourgogne Roncevie
A very fine, vibrant and fresh dark cherry nose. Round in the mouth, a modest halo of tannin, and a decently layered concentration. oh, and super length!
From 2 parcels; Les Seuvrées and Clos Solon.
An instantly a bigger, fuller nose. More dimension of fine flavour – more structure too of course but fine, intense floral fruit, layers of flavour – simply excellent!
2015 Chambolle-Musigny
From 5 parcels, all close to Morey.
A little reductive depth here. Fresher, more direct, a little finer tannin. Very floral in the mid-palate. A super finish – gorgeous wine here.
2015 Gevrey-Chambertin
From Seuvrées and La Justice.
A decent width of aroma, but tighter below. In the mouth, this is clearly more structured – a drag of tannin but also a slowly growing, very floral mo impression – really a great finish, and just a little more austere to start.
2015 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Noirots
A nice vibrancy of aroma, pretty red fruit. Silkier, fresher – a cool long line of fruit here.. Plenty of fine tannin but delightful, precise notes of focused fruit. Really super!
2015 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Chatelots
There’s more weight of fine aroma here – beautiful. Ooh, here is minerality and silk, mouth-watering, faintly creamy. Beautiful, versus many, the weight is a little slight perhaps, but this is gorgeous, complex, super wine…
2015 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Sentiers
A big perfume pushed lower with a little reduction. Bigger in shape, with super depth and nice flavour. A little less impressive flavour than the last, but showing a little more power too. A hint of structure in the finish, but great taste too.
2015 Morey St.Denis 1er Les Millandes
The only wine racked. Lots of clay brings early maturity here. 13.7° natural – it’s always the highest.
A deeper, darker fruit aromatic. Faintly with graphite. Good line, good texture and slowly mouth-watering flavour too. Again plenty of tannin but a nice floral fruit finish to add to the ‘dark side’ of fruit.
Plenty of reduction but giving way to a round and very attractive fresh dark fruit. Fresh, complex, interesting. Everything you could wish for. Bravo!
A vineyard that touches on Mazoyères. 35-year-old vines.
The reduction here gives way to a very floral nose. Comforting and complex – ooh this you could drink already! – there’s no less structure but the shape and the fruit are really accommodating – bravo!
2015 Morey St.Denis 1er Les Ruchots
25% whole-cluster here – and in the Sentiers and Combottes plus grand crus. The others were destemmed.
More floral nose and super depth. Some structure and very fine flavours. Yum!
The oldest vines of the domaine, one part are 95-years-old. ‘I was almost going to pull them out before going biodynamic – the quality was great but there was no quantity. Since we changed to biodynamics there is enough!
Wide and beautiful fruit, faintly whole-cluster and super inviting. Bigger, and bathed in very fine tannin. Excellent flavours leaching from between the teeth. Simply a beauty!
2015 Charmes-Chambertin
Fresh, round, pretty high-toned fruit. Round and showing a nicely comforting structure. Leaching flavour again, very pretty wine.
2015 Clos de la Roche
Wider, indeed a wilder nose of whole-cluster fruit and flowers – yum! Fresh and round, there’s more structure and then slowly the fruit and others start to take centre-stage. Fine, precise, some dried fruit and oak in the finish, a little oak tannin too. This will be super…
Ooh… A super-involving, deeply fruited aroma. Wide, mouth-watering flavour, encompassing and then melting over the palate. Great finish not with bravado, rather achingly long pretty flavour. Bravo!
From the Chambolle side, including vines in both terres-blanches and terres-rouges.
Exquisite, modest aromatic density but it’s a fabulously complex and fresh nose. Weight, some tannin, and then a long, long line of attractive finishing flavours. Drink the Clos St.Denis today(!) and think about the Bonnes-Mares for tomorrow!
There are, since 2013, some négoce wines, and where possible, the domaine also do the vineyard work:
Relatively low-lying vines, between Nuits and Vosne.
A faint reduction, but pretty fruit in the direction of gooseberry. Fresh, pretty not much tannin, easy yet very attractive drinking – really super fruit!
2015 Morey St.Denis Clos Solon
Also a really fine and floral red fruit – super. Fresh, silky, growing flavour, a little structure and even some mid-palate minerality. Excellent!
A blend of fruit from Commune (95%) and Aux Réas.
Faint reduction but deep and showing a classically Vosne aromatic. Also a little reduction on the tongue, but also a gorgeous width of fresh flavour. Really excellent!
2015 Vosne-Romanée Aux Reas
Villages Aux Réas.
Faint reduction but a beautiful open-ended, spicy nose – a beauty. Complex, more structured than the nose suggested, but with meltingly fine flavour. Excellent!
‘The only vineyard where I don’t do the treatments, but its done in bio, indeed very well done bio.’
A very different nose, floral and wide, less overt depth – really becomes quite exquisite. Lithe, transparent, a little mineral, beautiful flavour – not a wine of depth but no less engrossing for that. Beautiful. Just a little tannin aide-memoir to finish with…
A big, impressive nose of perfect flowers and an intensity of red fruit – violet flowers of fine purity. Lithe, fresh, complex wine with some strucure, which begins to melt as the complexity of flavour takes over. Also simply gorgeous wine, here it’s also a hint saline to finish.
A little parcel in Les Treux, high up, with 60-year-old vines.
Ooh, not so open as the Petits Monts, but a deep well of fine fruit to fall into! Fine, modest of weight, gorgeously complex and meltingly wonderful flavour. Simply top wine!
Les blancs…
2015 Bourgogne Aligoté
Always harvested last, quite some old vines too, between Chambolle and Morey. Already bottled.
Bright and deep – it’s an attractive nose. Silky, weighty, fresh, slightly spiced, delicious aligoté.
2015 Hautes Côtes de Nuits Blanc
This still in barrel. High trained vines.
Deep, some spice, very modest reduction. Lots of gas and some reduction on the palate too. A growing width of slightly oaked flavour, then a fine burst of fresh mid-palate flavour if still backed by oak today. The flavour holds very well.