September-October 2012
Issue 164
Thomas Morey
“Thomas Morey told me he doesn’t yet know ‘where to
place’ the 2011 vintage. He believes that the wines will
be ‘easy and pleasant’ and will give pleasure relatively
young. Although yields were in the 50 to 52 hectolitersper-hectare range, there was not a lot of juice in the
grapes as copper treatments against powdery mildew
during the summer had the effect of toughening the
grape skins. With more solid matter in the must, Morey
did a longer-than-usual debourbage. The 2011s had
been racked at the beginning of April. By the way,
Morey noted that following the frost of 2010, a good
bit of village-level pinot noir in Chassagne-Montrachet
was replanted to chardonnay.
2011 Saint-Aubin Premier Cru le Puits
(Morey finished harvesting on September 9, and he
picked in Saint-Aubin at the end): Pure, subtle aromas
of lemon and ginger; less peppery and green than the
basic Saint-Aubin that preceded it. More intense too,
with more tactile flavors of citrus fruit and dusty stone.
Not a fleshy wine but finishes with good energy and
persistence. 87-89
2011 Saint-Aubin Premier Cru les Combes
Pale yellow with green highlights. White peach with a
hint of silex minerality. Pure, juicy and pliant, with the
white peach flavor dominating the palate. Turns more
citrussy and a bit dry on the back end, finishing with
hints of pepper and menthol. 87-89
2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru les
Macharelles
(from rented vines, half of which are 30 and half 40
years of age): Candied pear lifted by herbs on the
enticing nose and palate. Supple, gently sweet and
easygoing; this will offer early appeal. Finishes with a
note of menthol. (Morey’s Chassagne-Montrachet was
more herbal and minty and a bit less concentrated,
finishing with a skinnier impression; it offers 86-88
potential.) 87-90
2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru les
Chenevottes
(Morey gets this fruit through a rental agreement):
Good pale yellow. Spicy aromas of flowers, anise and
white truffle. Supple and stylish but could use more
intensity of flavor. Finishes a touch dry but with finesse,
hinting at pear, licorice and herbs. 87-90
2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru les
Baudines
Bright pale yellow. A bit riper on the nose than the
Chenevottes, offering scents of peach and smoky
minerality. Then juicy and nerveux on the palate; not
a fleshy wine but has cut and lift. I wanted a bit more
concentration and personality though. Finishes with a
spicy note. 88-90
2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru les
Embrazées
Medium yellow. Reticent but ripe aromas of dried fruits
and honey. Supple, sweet yellow fruit flavors could use
a bit more vibrancy and depth. Finishes a tad dry, with
moderate persistence. 88-90
2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru
Morgeot
(an assemblage of Les Fairendes and Petit Clos):
Bright pale yellow. Slightly exotic but fresh aromas
of pear, yellow peach, spices and white truffle. Rich,
sweet and nicely delineated; not a powerful wine but
suggests better ripeness and inner-mouth tension than
the foregoing premier crus. Finishes with good spicy
persistence. 89-91
2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos
St Jean
(another new wine for Morey, from vines at the bottom
of the clos): Bright pale yellow. The nose and mouth are
dominated by pear blossom and flowers. Nicely intense
and essentially gentle wine with moderate depth of
texture and attractive freshness. Like the Morgeot, this
wine’s healthy acidity gives tension and definition to
the middle palate. 89-91
2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Vide
Bourse
Bright lemon-yellow. A lemon aroma is nicely lifted by
stone. The sweetest wine yet in this range, but with
lively lemony acidity giving cut to the middle palate.
The subtly persistent, rising finish really dusts the
palate with citrus and mineral flavors. Leaves behind
an aroma of pineapple in the empty glass.
90-92
2011 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru les
Dents de Chien
Ripe pineapple aroma enlivened by high-pitched notes
of violet and lavender. Fat, round and sweet on the
palate, with subtle soil tones contributing to the wine’s
impression of power. The palate-coating finish is suave
and aromatic but could use a bit more lift. This will
need some time in bottle to express its personality. 89-92
2011 Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru la Truffière
Bright yellow. Ripe aromas of peach, orange zest,
crushed stone and clove. More chewy and saline than
the Dents de Chien but still a rather polite 2011, with
its volume leavened by good inner-mouth energy. In
an elegant style and very nicely balanced. Really dusts
the palate on the saline finish. 91-93
2011 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
(Colin has four barrels of this juice, from three different
parcels, all located within Chassagne-Montrachet; he
split the original two family parcels with his brother
Vincent and got more fruit through a rental agreement):
Ripe stone fruits, iodine, smoky lees and spicy oak on
the complex nose. Rich, ripe and sweet, with flavors
of peach and saline minerality. This round and rather
powerful wine expands nicely in the mouth and finishes
with excellent sappy length. 91-94
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2010 Saint-Aubin Premier Cru les Combes
Fresh apple and white peach aromas are accented
by dill and mint. Supple and moderately intense but
slightly dry-edged, with hints of citrus peel and dusty
stone. A wine of medium depth and sweetness, just a
touch sour on the back end.
87
2010 Saint-Aubin Premier Cru le Puits
Cyanic peach pit on the aromatic nose. Chewy and
uncompromisingly dry, with good cut and lift to the
flavors of lime skin and dusty, iodiney minerality. Light
on its feet and soil-inflected.
89
2010 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru les
Embrazées
Bright, light yellow. Aromas of stone fruits and lemon
ice, with complicating notes of porcini, earth and honey.
Rich-verging-on-oily in texture but juicy too, with stone
fruit and sweet earth flavors offering plenty of early
appeal. Finishes with an enticing salty/sweet balance
and good chewy length, with a bit of oak showing. 91
2010 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru
Morgeot
Bright pale straw. High-pitched perfume of white
pepper and lavender, plus a hint of sweet oak. Dense,
sweet and oaky, with lovely energy to the citrus fruit
and fresh pineapple flavors. This firmly structured wine
finishes with good underlying minerality and a brisk
note of lemon pith.
92
2010 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru les
Baudines
Pale bright yellow. Intriguing nose offers white pepper,
lavender, iodine and a whiff of earth. Juicy and intense,
with lovely cut and lift to the perfumed floral and iodine
flavors. Finishes aromatic and long, with a lightly tannic
impression. There’s something raw and unembellished
about this soil-driven wine.
92
2010 Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru la Truffière
Pale yellow. White peach, lemon, gingerbread and spicy
oak on the nose. Tactile and gripping but weightless
and airy too, showing terrific cut and energy to its ripe
citrus oil flavors. Very long and pure on the aftertaste.
This has the energy and concentration for a graceful
evolution in bottle, and I wouldn’t even think about
opening a bottle for at least a few years.
93(+?)”
TMO015