Domaine Taupenot-Merme, Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru, Burgundy, France, 2017

Vault Wine: This wine is stored in our vault.

Overview of the Wine
Located in the village of Morey St Denis, Domaine Taupenot-Merme was created in 1963 from the marriage of Jean Taupenot and Denise Merme. It is now run by the brother and sister team of Romain and Virginie Taupenot. For many years, two different estates operated simultaneously, one in Morey St Denis and one in St Romain. These were then merged when Romain took over in 1998. Romain likes to fly under the radar–a soft-spoken man with a gentle demeanor and an outstanding knowledge of the region who makes classic wines of purity and finesse. The Domaine is spread quite widely throughout the Cote, boasting 13 hectares of vines over 20 appellations, striking a good balance between Grand Cru, Premiers Cru and Village wines. Each of the domaine’s wines speak to a sense of place, illustrating typicity punctuated with a signature of impressive aromatics, chiseled tannins and silky texture. Romain moved from lutte raisonnee to organic viticulture in 2001, with a winemaking approach which is very hands-off. He talks of infusion not extraction, with fermentation occurring naturally with indigenous yeasts before the grapes go into the pneumatic press. The elevage is also simple, with Romain employing mostly two tonneliers–Francois and Mercurey. Ageing is between 12 to 14 months on fine lees and no racking, with Grand Cru wines seeing 40% new oak, 30% for 1er Crus and about 20% for Village wines. Wines are then transferred to stainless steel tanks for 3 month prior to bottling, with neither fining nor filtration.

Grape / Blend
Pinot Noir

Origin
Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, France

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
This Gevrey-Chambertin from Taupenot-Merme opens with a subtle expression of perfumes of dill, almond, cherry and tobacco, also marked by scents of violet and raspberry. Powerful, complex, offering mellow tannins but abundant with a good acidity and lovely black fruits.

94 Points - Vinous
The 2017 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru has a detailed, precise nose, quite understated at first, featuring morello cherries, wild strawberry, light violet petals and loamy notes that lend complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin. This is a finely tuned Charmes-Chambertin with good backbone, actually quite Mazoyères-like in style. Give it four to six years once in bottle.

93 Points - Burghound.com
Light reduction and wood blur the nuance of the red berry fruit and earth scents so I again would counsel a quick aeration. The sleek and seductively, indeed even silky, textured medium-bodied flavors are attractively refined thanks to the dense but finely grained tannins that give shape to the lingering and refreshing finish that offers slightly better depth.

Product size: 750ml