Tasted in Savigny with Colleen and Nick Harbour, 13 November 2018.
Maison Harbour
24 Rue Chanson Maldant
21420 Savigny-lès-Beaune
Tel: +33 6 95 59 08 55
http://www.maisonharbour.com/
https://www.facebook.com/maisonharbour
Space is getting tight in the compact-cuverie of this duo, but the quality of the equipment looks better every year – fine open-topped wooden fermentation tanks seem the latest additions.
Colleen and Nick on 2017:
“2017 was a big vintage for us after 2016. It’s doubly interesting because we started in 2013 so we’ve never seen yields like in 2017 – as one vigneron told us ‘You’ve seen 50 years of experience in the last 6 or 7 vintages!’ We had offers of grapes from all over town, but seemingly many offers were the short-notice kind, basically because other cuveries were already full! That meant that we had to be really very selective. But, essentially, it was a fun vintage. We went from 5 to 11,000 bottles between the 2016 and 2017 vintages – in the end we were stretched to our limits to do that!”
The wines…
The fourth vintage I’ve tasted here. Whilst I felt a couple of wines could have been a little more concentrated, all of them tasted fine – this remains a lovely boutique operation!
All the wines have been racked since mid-October, with a little sulfur. They are planning to bottle in January-February depending on how the wines taste. All DIAM, they did a quarter in DIAM-Origne last year and don’t see a difference at this stage.
2017 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Dominode
About 40-45 year old vines. All destemmed. ‘Very happy to have this, some of the grapes were the best we saw…’
A narrow but sleek red fruit on the nose. Supple, lovely width, fine energy, plenty of Savigny herb in the middle if not on the nose. The finish is lovely.
2017 Gevrey-Chambertin Pressonnier
The same side of the road, just a little bit further south and the same producer as the Justice that follows. ‘The last vintage for this as it’s complicated selling two Gevreys.’
A reductive nose today. Good volume, lots of energy – modest overt concentration. Reductive flavour profile but also seems quite mineral.
2017 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice
A nicer, rounder nose. Hmm, better concentration with a hint of salinity, a growing intensity. A lovely fresh wave of finishing flavour. Excellent!
2017 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Combe aux Moines
But here is a third Gevrey!
Modest colour. A touch of aromatic reduction again. Also on the palate but a nice fresh wave of flavour follows on. Super finishing – you just have to wait for it – that’s lovely!
2017 Pommard 1er Les Chanlins
More colour. Redder almost reductive, it’s still a fine nose. Hmm – this has some flavour impact. Energy, slowly fading flavour. Beautifully finishing with a fine complexity, interwoven with tiny-grained tannin…
2017 Corton
Hmm, this has a very fine depth and width aroma – super. Good volume, energy, with a depth of mobile complexity. All the edges are rounded. This is very fine – well done!
2017 Charmes-Chambertin
Hmm deep, aromatic, an impression of whole clusters – but there are none. Ooh, that’s a very fine, round, beautifully textured, saline wine. It’s delicious! Concentrated like a Charmes? Not in most vintages, but you wouldn’t turn down a glass! Super elegant wine.
Les Blancs…
2017 Bourgogne Chardonnay
A nice volume of aroma. Fills the mouth nicely, round, warm, ripe but always fresh. Tasty wine.
2017 Santenay 1er Gravières Blanc
Relatively young vines, worked raisonée.
A very nice depth to this ripe but fresh aroma. Supple, concentrated, a certain richness to this wine – very much contemplative – I’d prefer a bit more acidity but the energy is decent. A fine and persistent finish here.
2017 Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru
The same parcel the last 3 years.
Quite a tight, slightly saline nose. Classically Meursault with some minerality, fine freshness, a grain of texture almost like tannin. This is long, mineral and very excellent!