2018 Nuits Saint-Georges Les Pruliers 1er Cru

Proprietor Romain Taupenot was on hand to guide me through his 2019s at a domaine where quality has dramatically improved in recent years – as I keep telling anyone that will listen. “The 2019 vintage confirms global warming. It is the first vintage where we had so much heat during the growing season, four weeks where the temperature was between 35 and 40°C. But we also had more rain unlike in 2020. The vines were less stressed in 2019 although there was some on shallow soils. My fear was that unlike 2017, there would be a lack of acidity to maintain balance. We have the highest levels of alcohol ever, between 13.0° to 14.5°, the highest in Auxey-Duresses La Riotte and the Corton. It is the first vintage where I started with the Corton on 16 September, then stopped and restarted on 20 September with Les Pruliers and Chambolle etc. I finished harvesting the white before finishing the reds. The ripeness came very quickly but we still have good acidity and freshness. The stems were not fully lignified so I de-stemmed everything this year [even the miniscule production of the Clos des Lambrays], though I have trialled using stems in 2020. The Morey Village and Combe d’Orveau were quite difficult to finish their alcoholic fermentation. The reds were racked three weeks ago into tank and will be bottled in early February, though they are a bit closed at the moment. The wines are quite gourmandise, not as terroir-driven as the 2018 or 2017, but they will take more time. It is not the best vintage ever, but it is a very good vintage.”

That was a very sober approach to the 2019 vintage, more so than other winemakers that occasionally got carried away with superlatives. These 2019s from Taupenot-Merme continue their strong run of form, highlights a majestic Mazoyères-Chambertin and a supremely gifted Gevrey-Chambertin Bel-Air. The dark horse must be the excellent Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru – perhaps the best value-for-money once these wines are released.

Romain Taupenot has overseen this domaine ratchet up through the gears in recent vintages. He is a very conscientious winemaker, constantly questioning his wines, always a virtue in my book. “We started the picking on 4 September," he told me. "The two Auxey-Duresses are the only two wines over 14% and we obtained incredible freshness for this vintage. If you would have the same weather in 2003 we would have the same wines. The main reason is because we are now more aware that we have deposited potassium into the soil and this decreased the level of acidity. These days there is less potassium, so the wines tend to have more natural acidity and there are even some plots where there is a lack of acidity. Also there is a lower level of malic acid, so the decrease in malic acidity during barrel fermentation is lower. And also I think the vines can adapt to new condition. The question is: To what extent? One other thing to mention is that I feel that the Côte de Beaune is strong this year, partly because they enjoyed a little more rain than the Côte de Nuits."