Arlaud, Bouvier, Taupenot-Merme
Bernard Bouvier has 17 hectares under vine in and around Gevrey-Chambertin, Fixin and Marsannay, where he is president of the local syndicate. The quality of his wines prove he is doing everything right. His vineyards enjoy a high proportion of low-yielding old vines, which brings a natural depth to the wines. In the winery, he favours very gentle extraction and an element of whole bunch fermentation.
Down the road in Morey-St-Denis, Cyprien Arlaud is reaping the benefits of his early switchover to organics and biodynamics. He and his sister put in prodigious amounts of work in the vineyard, and employ a considerably larger vineyard crew than at most domaines; so it is ironic that his wines seem so effortless. Like Bouvier, he favours a significant proportion of stems in his fermentations, but he chose to dial that down in response to the 2021 vintage. 'We used fewer stems in 2021 because there was already lots of freshness and acidity in the fruit'. His 2021s are beautifully lifted and expressive.
Taupenot-Merme was my very first tasting in Burgundy last November, and Romain Taupenot and his wines offered a wonderful introduction to the vintage. 'I find these quite savoury wines, but all of them have a twist of sweetness at the end,' Romain mused. Where Bouvier and Arlaud like whole bunch fermentations, Romain always destems all his grapes, in pursuit of both a purer fruit character and more precise terroir expression. His 2021s are very lovely, very focussed wines. /NT
Read our full 2021 Burgundy vintage report here.
Offered subject to remaining unsold; for shipment Spring 2024
