Tasted in Nuits St.Georges with Oronce de Beler, 25 November 2020.
La Maison Romane
14 rue Thurot
Nuits St.Georges
Tel: +33 6 09 84 97 14
maisonromane.com
The name of this domaine comes from Oronce de Beler’s name for the house where he started out this journey, in Vosne-Romanée. Having moved to Nuits St.Georges in 2017 after the original Maison Romane was rented to someone new, he still decided to keep the old name.
“We and wanted something of our own and found it here in Nuits – the house in Vosne was from the 16th century and that was how the villagers called the house when moved there about 2005.”
Oronce explained the beginnings of his maison: “My original work had been making modern ploughs for horses, but we also started to make some wines in 2005, labels from anywhere between St.Veran and Chablis – even a little Châteaneuf-du-Pape in 2007. Eventually, I chose to concentrate only on wines from the Côte de Nuits in around 2011/2012.”
Right from the start, Oronce wanted to make his reds with the whole clusters, “I was lucky to taste a decent amount of Leroy and Confuron so that is what I adore. I like the feminine style of burgundy, a human personality in the wine. I like a lot of wine styles and regions, but Burgundy in both colours has an opening style that you want to discover. There are different styles of wines with whole-clusters, with mine, I don’t really aim for extraction. There’s no pigeage at the start, the fermentation cooking the stems brings the tertiary aromas, and only with the pigeage at the end…”
Oronce on 2019:
“Quite a complicated vintage, you had to keep a close watch on all the barrels as the sugars started very high. If needed there was a little sulfur added after the malo – then I said a little prayer!”
The wines…
My thanks on the first visit for the chance to follow two vintages, plus some more mature examples. It’s clear to me that you should hold onto these bottles for 7-10 years to find out what the producer wants to deliver. If you do, you are in for a treat!
2019 Bourgogne Rouge
3 weeks in bottle. Vines in Ladoix
Wide, nicely perfumed, the stems are visible but nicely done. Good texture with super width. The flavours give the impression of modest stems and equally modest sulfur – deliciously delivered the finishing structure is good too. Thats a very tasty bourgogne with a good finish
Two parcels of vines.
Deeper perfumed but still with fine freshness. Silky with nice drive. Delicious, nice complexity and structure, a slightly direct wine with just a little cushioning too. Bravo.
2019 Côte de Nuits Villages
This year from Brochon in an old quarry – never made with new barrels, but 1-2 years of age from very good producers.
This has a bigger nose, rounder, heavier, plenty of perfume but less fine. Very fresh, mineral and actually a super energy and finely textured again. Really a good mouth-watering style here, I’d rather take the Hautes Côtes but there’s certainly extra concentration on offer here. The finish is excellent though…
2019 Fixin Les Clos
A large nose, dark and richer fruited. Plenty of concentration again, a little extra structure too but not too much. The fruit is quite a blend, even a little primary strawberry in here. Another delicious finish, just a little more structure to grab the attention too.
Plenty of colour like all these so far. A smaller nose yet no less wide, touched by a little spice, the whole cluster element much less obvious. Layered, a touch of oak despite older barrels but it fits very well here. Supple, layered and completely delicious – bravo villages, beautifully textured.
2019 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice
3 parcels, two different vignerons.
Here’s a nose that recalls a little the cdnv; forward, more savoury, leathery. In the mouth, you melt into this fresh flavour, still touched by the profile of the nose but with a beautiful mouth-watering shape. A big growth of finishing flavour too. Not my favourite flavour profile but the shape and structure are really very fine.
And the domaine’s 2018s
“I don’t think the 2018 structure is very Maison Romane – the shoulders are wider. The wines show well but there’s less of the discretion that I search for.”
2018 Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Blanc
No filtering or fining for whites:
A deep nose wide at the base too, a certain vibration of energy. Wide, low sulfur style to the flavour but with fine clarity and structure – juicy finishing.
2018 Bourgogne Rouge
A little extra colour. Wide, silky low intervention nose – the suggestion of volatile is quite attractive here, like balsamic. Wide and energetic, plenty of acidity here. Nice clarity of flavour and good depth too. I like the freshness that has been acheived. This is excellent.
This vintage from near Fixin
A fresher, more interesting nose than the 19 – I think – it’s a proper invitation to drink. Big, bright, fresh – really full of energy. The tannin a little more present than for the 19s but completely delicious, mouth-watering wine – yes, bravo.
2018 Marsannay Longerois
Here’s a nose of attractive volume, it’s quite perfumed. A little gas on the palate. Width, a little more depth of flavour, perhaps complexity too – not more deicious than the last wine but it’s very good all the same. Wide and long finishing…
2018 Fixin Les Clos
Lots of colour. The nose had depth but also an agreeable airy style to the top notes. Tons of gas in this case. Nice shape, depth of flavour too – here with a suggestion of barrel , but only lightly so. A pleasing intensity to the finishing fkavour too. Again, very good.
2018 Chambolle-Musigny
Last made in 07 and 08 but not in 19, returning in 20 though with a lieu-dit
That’s a nice nose, complex and with a fine floral accent too. Extra depth of flavour, layered, complex, a certain richness to the flavour but very comforting wine is the result. Long and weighted in the finish, very good wine…
2018 Vosne-Romanée Aux Reas
Again a slightly smaller nose but of fine width and complexity. Super, mouth-waterng, freshness. Ultra-fine grain to this tannin, Theres more than in the the 19 but also less oak. Excellent again – the finishbquite multi-dimensional.
2018 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice
Here is much more freshness and clarity vs the 19 in barrel. A forward perfume from the wc. Wide, complex, structured, fresh – this wine has everything. Its less easy than the Vosne but generally a slightly better wine and has an extra purity I think. For the vintage a very fine Gevrey villages!
Much paler colour – thats the house clour! Great nose, complex, leafy, fresh – inwohld think at least 10 years older but compelling. Nouthfilling, suoer shale and frshness of flavour. Long, gorgeous, complex finish. Bravo!
2011 Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice
A less forward nose, but complex, leafy, and there’s still a little fruit here – I see none of the pyrazines of the vintage. Wide, decent energy, more structure. This more serious today than the 14, but very good.
2009 Corton-Perrieres
That’s a very fine nose – there’s density but also a smoky, leafy, character too. There’s some power here too. Layers of mouth-watering flavour that completely recall the notes on the nose. Very wide, still a little tannin but another ultra – delicious wine. Really excellent!
2010 Chablis Les Clos
That’s a nose of volume, of depth too and certainly one that invites you to drink. Great attack, layered flavour coupled with good freshness. Vibrant middle and finishing fkavours – here it’s really great. That’s an excellent wine, indeed great in parts!