MERCUREY 2019
Grape Variety
100% Pinot Noir.
Tasting notes
Colour: Deep garnet red colour.
Nose: An intense bouquet of ripe red fruits enhanced by an elegant oak note.
Palate: The mouth is powerful and rich. Lots of fruit and intensity in this Mercurey. Beautiful aromatic length.
Food and wine pairing
Will be the perfect companion to roasted or grilled meats, light game in sauce and most cheeses.
Serving suggestions
Serve at around 16°C (61°F).
Ageing potential
4 to 5 years.
Origin
In 1923, the civil court of Chalon-sur-Saône instituted, by judgment, the appellation d’origine mercurey, allowing it to become one of the three oldest appellations of Burgundy.
In the Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey has always enjoyed an excellent reputation.
This communal appellation includes 32 Climats classified as Premiers Crus. Located to the north of the Côte Chalonnaise, more than 90% of the wine produced under the Mercurey name is red. A total of 543 hectares, of which 148 are Premiers Crus. As for the white wines, they represent 106 hectares, including 18 classified as Premiers Crus.
The village of Mercurey owes its name to the Romans who, during the occupation of the region, built a temple in homage to Mercury, God of commerce and finance.
The vineyard estate extends now over 21 hectares and offers 3 upper quality wines from the appellation of Mercurey. White wines: Mercurey (3 ha), red wines: Mercurey (7.50 ha) and Mercurey 1er Cru En Sazenay (1.75 ha).
Terroir
- Vineyard area : 7,50 ha
- Vines age : 30 ans
- Soil : sol argilo-calcaire
Vinification and maturing
Harvest of our Mercurey Pinot Noir took place between the 16 and 20 of September.
Grapes were handpicked and carefully sorted, then carried in 16kg boxes to protect them from crush and compaction.
Maceration lasted about 14 to 18 days in order to get wines with a deep color, complex aromas and as a consequence a good ageing potential.
Traditional vinification was then carried out in temperature-controlled concrete vats - to master the fermentation temperatures thanks to the great inertia of concrete - with regular stirring and pumpings-over. Alternating those two methods is a good way to obtain balanced wines because the tannins are not too much extracted.
Then, the wine was aged for 9 months in oak barrels with 20% new oak.
Vintage : 2019
Winter was mild across whole Burgundy. Bud break started early April in our Domaine’s vineyards.
On April the 5th, a significant frost-freeze made damages in several plots. The villages of Rully and Mercurey were then less affected by a second freeze wave that occurred from the 13 to 14th of April, as the growers and people organized smoke screens to protect the vineyards.
The first grapes bunches appeared around the 20th of April.
Spring maintained damp but cold overall, during the whole month of May until flowering which began mid-June (10-15 of June.). This type of weather provided coulure and a very slow vegetative development of the vine.
Summer was then very hot (heatwave) and dry and causes “millerandage”.
Harvest took place in our estates from the 9th to the 24th of September under a radiant sun. The grapes showed good maturity and perfect balance. Throughout our estates volumes were down around 30%, with some plots more affected than others.
