Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru
The Premiers Crus of Morey St Denis cover the width of the commune on the lower slopes, below the Grands Crus. Another small band lies just above the Grands Crus at the northern end of the commune, adjacent to Gevrey-Chambertin. For the most part they are on very gentle slopes. This appellation includes 20 Premiers Crus Climats, from Les Blanchards to Clos de la Bussière.
Bottle
£63.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 18cs
When Virgile Lignier came back from his brief summer holidays, he toured the vines and saw a bit of rot on a biggish (by recent standards) crop, so he took a substantial team round to remove damaged bunches and anything unripe. He picked the healthy grapes from 17th September and gave the new vintage a long but light extraction. He has made some very succulent, juicy wines here in 2014.
Bottle
£63.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 15cs
Though we still have the pleasure of tasting with Christian Sérafin, it is now his niece, Frédérique who is solely responsible for winemaking. Christian describes 2014 as being all about elegance and balance, with neither too much acidity nor tannin. The Sérafin wines always repay patience.
Bottle
£75.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 17cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
Christian Sérafin is very happy with how 2013 worked out in the end, though yields were once again 25% below normal, even if a touch more than in 2012. The team removed rot and unripe bunches in the vineyard, then waited to pick until after the wet weekend which helped both sugar and acidity.
Bottle
£85.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 6cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
Virgile Lignier-Michelot, new to our offer this year, is very much a specialist in Morey-St Denis. Most of the wines are from his own vines and his typical formula is for 30% whole bunches in vinification and 30% new wood, though there may be a little more wood on the senior wines and some of the smallest cuvées are entirely whole bunch vinification.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
Virgile went through the vineyards 15 days before harvest, removing the leaves on the south side and taking away anything that was rotten. This kept his crop in good condition so he could afford to wait for full ripeness, not starting until 11th October. He then practised very gentle extraction to keep the tannins supple. He compares 2013 to 2008 but with greater richness of fruit. The crop is 15-to-20% up on 2012 but still well below normal.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director
The last few vintages have shown a freshening up of the Srafin style, though absolutely not at the expense of the concentration which is a hallmark of this domaine. The concentration of the fruit comes from their meticulous work in the vineyards, the fresher style from a little less extraction during fermentation. Christian himself thinks that 2010 is notably more concentrated than 2009 and as everywhere else, yields are down this year.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Christian Sérafin’s niece Frédérique follows very much in her uncle’s footsteps, using the same vinification and maturing principles as before, though possibly with a fractionally lighter touch. She is also reviewing the management of the soil in the vineyards to encourage more microbial life. They made what turned out to be the excellent decision not to do any leaf plucking in 2015, thus avoiding any burning of the grapes and so maintaining a respectable yield.
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 1 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
When Virgile Lignier came back from his brief summer holidays, he toured the vines and saw a bit of rot on a biggish (by recent standards) crop, so he took a substantial team round to remove damaged bunches and anything unripe. He picked the healthy grapes from 17th September and gave the new vintage a long but light extraction. He has made some very succulent, juicy wines here in 2014.