2019 Domaine Dureuil-Janthial, Rully Premier Cru “La Fosse” Red Burgundy, France.
The dark ruby/garnet hued Dureuil-Janthial Rully 1er Cru La Fosse starts with dark berry fruit, smoky/toasty notes, deep florals and subtle truffle earthiness in a medium bodied red Burgundy that has a lovely silken mouth feel and classic black cherry, plum and red currant fruits, as well as cedary wood, tea spice, grilled orange, fig and flinty mineral notes. For winemaker Vincent Dureuil, as he explains, the magic starts in the vineyards and ever since he took over at this estate, he has worked with organic principles, with each site treated as one would treat their own personal garden. His approach in the cellar is said to be classic and minimalist with low sulfur additions and a focus on transparency. For his Pinots, Vincent Dureuil employs mainly de-stemmed grapes with a very small percentage of whole clusters used for the single-site wines and a cold maceration of 8-10 days in old wooden upright vats. The cool fermentation with indigenous yeasts is allowed to go slowly before the wine is racked into small barriques, with usually about 20 to 25% new with an elevage of 12 months. Dureuil lets the final blend rest another 4-6 months in tank before they are bottled unfined and unfiltered, which results in, as he suggests, very elegant and authentic terroir driven wines. I usually go for the Rully Rouge and Blanc Village bottlings for personal use, but these Premier Cru offerings are definitely step ups, with this one drinking more like a Gevry-Chambertin in style and or reminds me of Meo-Camuzet’s Fixin and Mercurey offerings.
I just love what is coming out of Domaine Dureuil-Janthial and this small estate is certainly becoming one of my personal go to labels for quality Burgundy, some of which offer outstanding value, especially the Village level wines. As mentioned in my prior reviews, Vincent Dureuil, who took over the Dureuil-Janthial domaine from his father Raymond in 1994, is an establish star now and has passionately made it his mission in life to up the game in this part of the Côte Chalonnaise, which sits just about five miles south of Chassagne-Montrachet, and especially with his Rully, which is a fine limestone and clays terroir, as well as his Mercurey. The Domaine Dureuil-Janthial, Domaine A et P de Villaine and Domaine Sylvain Pataille are some of the most exciting producers here in the Côte Chalonnaise and I suggest chasing down all of their efforts, in particular these 2020 wines, which are very elevated examples that rival much more expensive Burgundies, Though lesser known than some other places here in the Côte d’Or, Côte Chalonnaise, has some stellar crus, like St. Aubin, Santenay or Saint Romain, and Rully makes for some tasty Chardonnays that deliver some of the best bargains in White Burgundy. The 2019 vintage La Fosse is a bit lighter in feel and the oak seems slightly overbearing, but with air everything came around and there was a lot to enjoy here and secondary evolution has added some depth and complexity, though maybe this won’t be one to age too long, especially with 2020 and 2022s showing much more sex appeal, richness and structure. As I’ve said before, this is a domaine to follow and I recommend chasing down these Rully reds and whites, for serious and rewarding Burgundy efforts.
($115 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive