2022 Maranges, Aux Gryphées, David Moreau, Burgundy
Critics reviews
A pretty mid-purple colour with a light oaking to the nose, but above all a really charming fruit, poised, delivering a great fruit-to-acid balance and a light salinity alongside the fresh raspberry fruit. 15% whole bunch vinification here.
Drink 2025 - 2030
Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy (November 2023)
The 2022 Maranges Aux Gryphées contains two parcels, one from the Premier Cru of Clos Rousseau. The attractive bouquet is quite “mellow” in style, a mixture of red and black fruit with hints of sea spray. The palate is medium-bodied with quite a firm structure, the 15% whole bunches lending a subtle pepperiness. This is quite “serious” on the finish and will benefit from a couple of years in bottle.
Drink 2026 - 2036
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (January 2024)
About this WINE
David Moreau
David Moreau has taken over part of his octogenerian grandfather’s wine domaine in Santenay in Côte de Beaune, beginning with the 2009 vintage. Prior to that David has worked with Olivier Lamy and Domaine de la Romanée Conti, as well as doing a stage in New Zealand at Neudorf.
David is beginning with 5 of the family’s 9 hectares and suffice to say that significant changes in both viticulture and vinification have been made compared to the ancien regime. The vineyards were almost all planted in the 1960s, so David has old vines to work with. They are mostly pruned by cordon royat to minimise vigour, and the land is either ploughed or left with grass depending on the circumstance of a given plot.
Maranges
Maranges is the southernmost wine appellation of the Côte de Beaune and not as well known as it deserves to be for its robust red wines. The AC only came into existence in 1989 with the amalgamation of the villages of Cheilly, Dezize and Sampigny.
- 140 hectares of village Maranges.
- 100 hectares of premier cru vineyards (20 in all). Best vineyards include La Fussière
Though a very small amount of white wine is made, the lion’s share is Pinot Noir – firm, sturdy wines which need a gentle hand to manage the fruit. Normally drunk best at three to five years old.
Recommended Producers:
Contat Grangé, and Camille Giroud who has made a speciality out of Marange wine since 2004
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 vines are old, planted in 1943 and 1947. The latter is Premier Cru, forming about half the blend. This is brightly fruited, with a crunchy, spicy character that makes it very drinkable. The stems soften the tannins and sweeten the mid-palate, and there’s a lovely refreshing grip to the finish.
Drink 2025 - 2032
Berry Bros. & Rudd
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