Tasted in Nuits St.Georges with Joelle Charrondiere and Jean François Joliette, 14 December 2017.
Maison Louis Max
6 Rue de Chaux
21700 Nuits-Saint-Georges
Tel: +33 3 80 62 43 01
www.louismax.com
Jean François on 2017:
“2017 was a normal vintage for volume, but we need another normal in 2018 from the perspective of stocks.”
Jean François on 2016:
“2016 was really complicated, it wasn’t just frosted here, there was much frost in Mercurey too – here there were 40% losses. Many of the wines were racked about 2 weeks ago to start bottling. Have about 35-40% of a normal vintage from the domaine wines here, but we also have many fewer cuvées than usual.”
Jean François notes that “All the domaine is on bio for 8 years now. Typically we use 50% whole clusters, with no cold maceration and pigeage by foot – to respect the stems.”
The wines…
A great selection for the price conscious – well done. Not just delicious, but wines with character too!
2016 Brouilly
A new wine here with a label that has both Louis Max and, technical director, David Duband’s name on the label. ‘Made in the bourgogne style’ but no destemming. Barrel elevage. Also not yet bottled, only racked.
A nice depth of aroma here, very dark fruit. Super freshness, but width and a nice very finely grained tannin. This is very juicy wine, broad finishing. And right at the end is the sucrosity that I was looking for in the middle. Very tasty wine – yum!
Hmm, this has a super floral concentration – super inviting. Direct, fresh, a little mineral, growing in intensity. Really deep, impressive wine – to wait a little time for. Very dark fruit. This is a great Mercurey. Bravo!
From 3.5 hectares of domaine vines.
A little less floral but wider, more precise and very pretty. More volume in the mouth, more open and more complex, more easy to get at all the flavours – plenty of ‘ores’ there! Deep and concentrated for saving, really great Mercurey again!
2016 Gevrey-Chambertin
Racked into tank. A mix of vine locations
Beautifully wide and beautifully complex and inviting – fresh notes, not obviously wc on the nose. Lots of volume and just a few millimetres of cushioning. Fresh, slowly melting flavours, long, long, faintly spiced from the wc. Super and again to wait (less time) for…
2016 Nuits St.Georges
Bought grapes, all vinified here.
A little less wide nose but deeper and more concentrated – still very fine fruit and a modest floral contribution that’s getting better and better – super! Supple, fabulous fresh, transparent wine with a beautiful purity of fruit – some tannin, but beautiful elegant but complex and delicious Nuits.
This still in barrel.
Directly deeper colour. Very dark fruit, more black than red, a hint of spice too. A base of ultra-fine tannin – there is virtually no grain – wide, open and of lovely scale with freshly mouth-watering flavour. A little saline and very long – really an impressive density of finishing flavour. Really great wine!
Les blancs…
The produce here is usually about 30% white, mainly with elevage in 350 litre barrels.
Bought in must and made in Nuits in 350 litre barrels.
A punch from this nose – this is so forward – a bright, fine and inviting nose. Hard for the palate to keep up with the nose, but this does a good job, there’s volume in the mouth, precision of flavour. Lovely freshness and length, all in such a tasty package – bravo!
2016 Rully les Planteneys
In bottle two months from bio vines.
Less overt top notes of freshness but a nice width of aroma below. A little more direction than the Milly, mouth-watering, a wine with a just a little more direct intensity and super delicious flavour. I prefer the nose of the last but this to drink!
2016 Mercurey Les Rochelles
This is rather pretty – some fresh width of citrus complexity – getting better and better. More direct, more mineral, slowly mouth-watering, becoming more intense. Great nose very good on the palate – you’d be surprised it’s Mercurey – the drive and tension is excellent!
Les impact but still a very lovely nose with pretty points of complexity. Ooh – open, mineral like a St.Romain with a hint more density, some finishing salinity – really a great wine. Juicy and delicious.
2015 Mâcon-Milly Lamartine
A big punch of aroma again – more sun but stilly plenty of freshness. Big, fresh and open in the mouth – indeed very mouth-watering with lots of scale here. Almost a spicy salinity but really a super freshness for the vintage. I could drink a few glasses of this!