Tasted in Beaune with Geoffroy Choppin de Janvry, 02 December 2020.
Domaine Albert Morot
20 Avenue Charles Jaffelin
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33 3 80 22 35 39
www.albertmorot.fr
More reports for Domaine Albert Morot
This domaine has organic certification since 2015, producing 95% red wine from predominantly older vines. Today, Geoffray produces around 35,000 bottles with the help of 2 full-time employees and one student. The domaines sales are predominantly in export markets
Geoffroy on 2020:
“2020 – a hot vintage that lacked water – a bit dry – so the pinots suffered but like the last vintages we had decent yield of fine and clean grapes and no real need to triage. I used a few whole clusters in the ferments as they were quite ripe and added bit more energy – but that’s 3 good vintages in a row. Another vintage with practically no pigeage.”
Geoffroy on 2019:
“A similar yield to 2020 – 30-35 hl/ha – not catastrophic, fortunately, we had no frost in this vintage. We harvested from 13 September and hoped for cooler weather – but it was rather warm in the end!”
The wines…
There are two pre-eminent, independent, domaines for (and in) Beaune – here and Domaine des Croix. Stylistically, there is a little more sweetness/sucrosity chez des Croix, but it’s only a style, not a quality, difference.
Bravo – a super range of wines here in 2019. And, disclaimer, I also ordered (and already paid) for some!
Two of the wines were bottled in August, the rest were all done the week before I visited. Since 2018 all the corks are NDTec:
2019 Beaune Dessus des Marconnets
This an August bottling… All destemmed, this higher parcel is later ripening. A small cuvée and no new oak.
Plenty of colour. An attractive and round nose – fresh red fruit – a good invitation. Supple, modest fat to this silky texture. A strong width of flavour here. A very tasty villages Beaune.
2019 Pommard
From La Rue au Porc – lower-lying vines here.
Plenty of colour again. More depth to this silky-fruited nose. Wide, a little more structural but the tannin is very well hidden. A little metallic edge to fine fruit today – but here is incisive flavour and super intensity for a villages label.
All the following bottled 1 week ago:
2019 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er La Bataillière Aux Vergelesses
Sited in Savigny’s Les Vergelesses. One-third of this mid-slope 1.8-hectare monopole, 0.6ha, has been uprooted and planted with chardonnay.
A large-scaled nose – lots of volume – fresher, a small wc perfume accent here too. Depth of flavour, a nice depth to the texture here too – not fat but still a few mm of cushioning. That’s a particularly lovely and persistent finish. Super Savigny!
2019 Beaune 1er, Cents Vignes
More clay and silt here at the bottom of the slope, vines planted in 1962.
Starting tighter above but with lots of depth, this nose grows and grows, slowly adding higher-toned fruit and even a suggestion of florals. Fine shape and energy here – I love the open, slightly structured framework – the wc less visible but perhaps aiding the energy and complexity all the same. Simply excellent wine – open and fresh with lip-smacking finishing flavour.
Near the Clos des Mouches, 1 ha of vines, 1/3 of which are planted to white – there’s more limestone and sand here. All destemmed in this case – as higher on the hill about half a degree less than the lower vines… Here 13°
Not so deep but a nose that seems wider, fresher and a showing little more purity. Nicely clean and precise, lovely texture too – silky, direct cool-fruited wine. Long and mouth-watering. Love that – bravo!
2019 Beaune 1er Toussaints
There are not many who label this, and this another that is all destemmed.
The nose is less forward, less open than the Aigrots. Large-scaled in the mouth, a big wine here, not too concentrated – nicely balanced but clearly plenty of volume and energy here. Excellent wine, just missing a touch of the elegance of the last, more strict but that won’t be the case for too long.
Just 1 barrel – I’m honoured – Geoffroy doesn’t usually open them after bottling.
That’s not a big nose but it’s a precise and beautifully perfumed nose – really super. Wide, layered, completely beautiful and delicious wine – as elegant a Greves as you will find but still a complete wine. Directly bravo – that’s a great bottle!
2019 Beaune 1er Marconnets
Right at the top of the hill of Beaune. Young, 6-year-old pinot-fin wines with a smaller amount of old vines.
A narrow but fresh nose – reticent. Much fresher, more direct, cool fruited. Less directly sweet after the previous, but a certain elegance and slightly perfumed flavour. Another simply excellent Beaune.
2019 Beaune 1er Bressandes
From above Toussaints, there’s more limestone in this plot.
Here’s a wine that starts small but keeps gaining in volume and perfume – that’s very lovely. High-toned, a little impression of whole clusters in the fresh middle flavour, Almost chewy depth of finishing flavour too. A more robust but equally delicious style of excellent Beaune.
From higher up in the vineyard.
Deeper, redder fruited – less width of aroma to start. Back to the sleek, silky, direct and cool-fruited style. A base of ultra-fine tannin but almost no dryness. Wide finishing, lingering oh-so-well. That’s a great range of wine in 2019.
Les Blancs
2019 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er La Bataillière Aux Vergelesses Blanc
This in Vergelesses. 6-year-old vines.
Hmm – that’s quite a big nose. Supple in the mouth, starting a little fat but with mouth-watering persistence, this seems ever-more airy and balanced. Still finishing in an ample way but always with a nicely mouth-watering style. Very tasty wine.
2019 Beaune 1er Aigrots Blanc
Here older vines – 30.
Not so deep, despite a little more mineral style, but certainly a nice width of aroma – inviting. Super shape in the mouth – round but not too large, really mouth-watering in style, always with a sweetness – but not too sweet – of fruit. The best part is finish – long, narrow, faintly textured with tannin, full of cherry and apricot stone – lovely!
There is one response to “Albert Morot – 2019”
Hello Bill,
Any idea why this domaine was recently slammed by the Revue du vin de France (in their 2020 Guide Vert – comes up if you google Albert Morot and Revue du Vin de France)?
Thanks!
JF
Hola JF
Sorry, not heard about that – I’ll ask aroun, but I’m not sure it will be something I can print 😉
For what it’s worth, I rarely buy wines these days as I have ‚enough‘ and I don’t earn like I once did, but I bought a couple of wines from Geoffray – his 2019s, whilst different, are every bit as good as David Croix‘s Beaunes in this vintage. I can’t give more praise than those two reasons…
Agree. Maybe « un coup bas » as we say in French. Sticks out like a sore thumb You like many observers have noticed the improvements at this established Beaune domaine 2017s on sale next week in my neck of the woods (Quebec, Canada). I will be pouncing!