2014 Domaine Montanet-Thoden, Bourgogne Rouge, Garance, Vezelay, France.
Valentin Montanet is the young winemaker who’s making the wines at Montanet-Thoden, his mother’s project from vines she inherited and he is the son of Jean Montanet, a long time Kermit Lynch imports favorite, of Domaine de la Cadette in Vezelay. Vezelay was a historic and ancient wine town in northwest Burgundy, almost directly west of Dijon and close to Chablis, it got wiped out in the 1800’s by phylloxera and only started to make a comeback in the 1970’s, the soils are clay rich and with classic limestone underpinning. Valentin makes natural wines and uses no new oak, his wines show a juicy vibrant style with hints of spice, he tries to ferment whole cluster and ages the Pinot Noir in 80% all neutral barriques and 20% in tank to preserve life and vitality. The 2014 Garance Bourgogne Rouge is a beautiful and stylish effort with graceful lines and drinks clear and persistent with lovely floral tones, chalk/stones, tart cherry, plum and wild strawberry fruit along with zesty pepper, anise and cinnamon notes. Hints of rose petal, earth and light cedar notes add to the complexity of this fine Burgundy and the finish lingers on with red currant sweet and tangy. The white and red Burgundies from Montanet-Thoden are worth searching out for their quality and value with a drink now and often profile, and these 2014’s are in particular very charming offerings.
($32 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive
