2017 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, Clos de la Perrière, DomaineSébastien Magnien
About this WINE
Sebastien Magnien
No relation to the Côte de Nuits Magniens, young Sébastien comes instead from Meloisey in the Hautes Cotes de Beaune – a village whose wines were as well thought of as those of Volnay in the 14th century, and were served at the coronation of King Philip II Augustus in 1180.
However to be in the thick of things Sébastien has transferred headquarters to revamped cellars in the middle of Meursault. White wines come from the Hautes Côtes, St Romain and Meursault, the red wines from Volnay, Pommard and the Hautes Côtes including an excellent Clos des Perrières from Meloisey.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
The Clos de la Perrière is one of the outstanding sites of the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, facing south on stony and shallow soil. The nose has a lovely, lifted perfume which leads on to a textured palate packed with pure red-cherry fruit and dense tannins. This will truly hit its stride with a few years in bottle. Drink 2020-2024.
A short tour of one of Sébastien Magnien’s vineyards tells all you need to know about his philosophy; each vine is perfectly manicured, with not a leaf out of place. This attention to detail is reflected in his wines, which are precise, steely and mineral. Sébastien’s choice of picking date is guided by acidity rather than sugar levels, putting the emphasis on freshness. He declared himself very happy with 2017, comparing the white wines to 2014 but with perhaps a touch more flavour ripeness, and praising the accessible, moreish character of the reds.
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