Domaine Maume
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
There was not much rot in the vineyards here but a very small crop, less than 2012, because of the flowering. As a result some individual cuvées have not been made this year. Picked in cool weather between the 7th and 10th October, it was necessary to warm the fruit to start fermentations, after which the vats were given middling maceration time but with very little extraction.
Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Wine Director
It was fascinating to taste the 2012 range with Bertrand Maume and his colleagues from Marchand-Tawse, who now assist in the winemaking process since Moray Tawse bought the domaine two years ago. There is still the recognisable, characterful Maume style but some of the inconsistencies of the past have been ironed out. There has been a little more pumping-over to aerate the fermenting vats and thus better manage the reductive aspects of old-style Maume winemaking. 2012 is a lovely vintage here.
Jasper Morris MW - Burgundy Wine Director
It was fascinating to taste the 2012 range with Bertrand Maume and his colleagues from Marchand-Tawse, who now assist in the winemaking process since Moray Tawse bought the domaine two years ago. There is still the recognisable, characterful Maume style but some of the inconsistencies of the past have been ironed out. There has been a little more pumping-over to aerate the fermenting vats and thus better manage the reductive aspects of old-style Maume winemaking. 2012 is a lovely vintage here.
Bertrand Maume and his colleagues from Marchand-Tawse now assist in the winemaking process since Moray Tawse bought the domaine in 2011. Bertrand was at the helm of Domaine Maume in Burgundy from 1991 until 2011 in succession to his father Bernard. The wines are still recognisably in the same style, though perhaps the firmness of the tannins has been ameliorated by slightly fuller fruit. Almost every year there is a technical modification to improve quality, whether it be a pneumatic press (1999) sorting table (2001) or destalking the grapes without crushing (2005). The grapes are now cooled before the fermentation gets under way, spending three to four weeks in the vats with both punching down and pumping over. The wines are then matured for up to 22 months without racking and they are neither fined nor filtered before bottling.
The Maumes see their wines falling into two groups: Etelois, Champeaux and Charmes are pretty and succulent, thus requiring oak from Jupilles or Troncais in the hands of coopers who specialise in finesse. En Pallud, the premier cru cuvée and Mazis-Chambertin have more rugged frames and need the firmer hand of Nevers wood from (e.g.) Berthomieu. while Lavaux is between the two, tending one way or the other according to vintage.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.