2020 Domaine Michel Magnien Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru "Climats d'Or", Burgundy, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru "Climats d'Or" is a blend of five premier crus in the village of Morey-Saint-Denis: Cheseaux, Charrires, Clos Baulet, Chaffots, Monts Luisants. The wine was fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks followed by several months aging in half terracota amphora & half used pice. Around 20% whole clusters were included in the cuve.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Domaine Michel Magnien has evolved into a Burgundy producer of a singular style and philosophy from their cellars located in the village of Morey-Saint-Denis. Michel Magnien was born in 1946 and worked alongside his father Bernard from a young age. The Magniens sold their grapes to the local cooperative until 1993 when his son Frdric joined the family business and persuaded his father to bottle the entire harvest by themselves. Frdric Magnien began experimenting with organic practices in the late 1990s and the entire production was certified biodynamic by Demeter in 2015. Frdric has also evolved the style of the wines and today levage takes place in only used oak and clay jars.

Morey-Saint-Denis is in Burgundys Cte de Nuits between Gevrey-Chambertin to its north and Chambolle-Musigny to its south. The domaines 45 acres are spread across the villages of Morey-Saint-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, and Vosne Romane, with holdings in several premier cru and grand cru vineyards, including grand crus Clos de la Roche, Clos Saint-Denis, and Charmes-Chambertin. Holdings are concentrated in Morey-Saint-Denis, where there are also parcels in the premier crus of Les Chaffots, Les Millandes, Les Blanchards, Aux Charmes, and Climats dOr. Frdric Magnien maintains an average vine age of 50 years, and has stated pointedly: pulling out old vines is not my work.

At harvest, Pinot Noir is partially destemmed at various percentages depending on the site and vintage. I use very ripe stems and the stems should integrate into the wine, said Frdric. Fermentation is spontaneous. Frdric admits to having used too much new oak for aging his wines in the past. This began to change with the 2012 vintage when he began to dramatically reduce the number of new barrels in the cellar. By the 2015 vintage, no new oak was used at Domaine Michel Magnien and Frdric now ages part of the production in small clay jars with the goal of eliminating any taste of wood in the wines. The wines are bottled without fining or filtration.