Domaine Chantal REMY: 2013s from Cask and a 2012 from Bottle

Domaine Chantal REMY (Morey-Saint-Denis)

2013s from Cask

This estate dates back to 1820, although there have been various changes over the years, most recently the sale a few years ago by Chantal’s two bothers of their vineyard interests, leaving not much wine – but the holdings and the wines are outstanding and worth your effort to search them out. The style is one of purity and understatement, even nakedness. Those who don’t know their terroirs might have the wines fly under the radar, as there (thankfully) is nothing flashy about these wines.

Chantal Rémy began making the wines here in 1988 (when the estate was known as Domaine Louis Rémy, the name it kept until recently). Her son Florian is now taking over and showing much talent on his own.

Harvesting began on October 11 (Rémy is one of a group of producers who habitually harvest late – Ponsot, and Clos de Tart, both also in Morey, as well as Confuron-Cotétidot and de Courcel). Lots of sorting was necessary, and malolactic fermentations generally were late, finishing only in September. The wines will remain in cask until June of next year.

2013 Morey-Saint-Denis   Clos des Rosiers

The vineyard is a monopole tucked in between the Rémy house and Clos des Lambrays immediately to the south. The vines were only planted in 2000, but the land is classified as premier cru, and next year Rémy will seek to have the wine bottled as premier cru. The wine is medium-weight and shows a bit of mustard seed to go with the red fruit. There is a fair amount of density here to go with the lightness on the palate. It’s a less serious wine than those that follow, one for earlier drinking, although there is a little tannin that shows through. (85-88)

2013 Clos de la Roche

This wine unusually started malolactic fermentation before the alcoholic had finished, and indeed there still was a very small amount of alcoholic fermentation to go when I tasted the wine, although I don’t detect any bad effects from that.  The wine is very pure with dark cherry fruit and a little black licorice, good energy, depth, and freshness, and some of the finesse of the vintage. (92-95)

2013 Latricières-Chambertin

This wine, too, features dark cherry fruit and has a touch of sucrosity still. It is medium-light in weight with freshness and tension but it is not the racy, tightly-wound wine it can be in the best of vintages. (92-96)

2013 Chambertin

The Chambertin is from vines that are about 70-80 years old, located next to Leroy and below part of Rousseau’s holdings. There has been some replanting in one part of the vineyard. The wine has floral aromas. The mouth shows lovely harmony to its red fruits and power for the vintage with good density and great length. (93-97)

A 2012 from Bottle

2012 Morey-Saint-Denis   Clos des Rosiers

This wine was tasted from a bottle opened the previous day. The nose shows lead pencil aromas. The mouth has dark fruit with some minerality, good freshness, and medium weight. The wine shows structure, as is typical of 2012, and good harmony. 90/A