2024 Sylvain Morey, Panorama Rouge, Luberon AOP, France.
Coming from a famous name in Burgundy, Morey, this Côtes du Rhône style red from the Luberon and Sylvain Morey shows off a polish, poise and elegance not typically found here in this rustic place, with a ripe and warm layering of dark boysenberry, blueberry, plum, strawberry and black cherry fruits, along with pretty florals, wild sage, peppercorn, a touch of feral leathery notes, anise and a fine mineral tone. This deep garnet/purple wine has a full bodied, but lovely proportioned and balanced, palate, with a vinous mouth feel and lengthy finish that brings together all the flavors and makes it wonderful with a range of cuisine, especially a robust meaty dish. The delicious AOP Luberon Panorama Rouge cuvée is made from 30% Syrah, 30% Grenache Noir, 20% Cinsault, 10% Carignan and 10% Mourvèdre, mostly all carefully sorted from organic vines set up at about 300 plus meters that were planted between 1955 and 2018, and saw an aging 18 months in used foudre and some tank. Sylvain Morey has spent the last few decades establishing his own new domaine, the Bastide du Claux, located in the south of France in the Luberon region. His experience working on his own project, combined with the deep knowledge he gained working with his father, Jean-Marc Morey, a very notable Burgundy producer, has, as his importer Neal Rosenthal says, matured Sylvain into a thoughtful and confident vigneron in his own right. I’m glad I got to actually spend a whole evening getting to know this stylish Luberon red, as it just got more impressive as it fully opened up and I highly recommend keeping an eye out for it, and I look forward to exploring Sylvain’s other bottings from this property.
The winery says that Sylvain Morey wines, are offerings from an atypical winegrower who applies his unique experience and vision to his two vineyard sites, both in Burgundy and the Luberon, giving a different perspective to each. Coming from a famous Burgundy family, son of Jean-Marc Morey, Sylvain and his famous sister Caroline, who’s married to Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, one of Burgundy’s top guns, split their father’s holdings in 2014, to each get their own labels going. This left Sylvain with some prime parcels, but with much less fruit, so he had the mind to explore other ideas and fell in love with the Luberon, where the Southern Rhône meets Provence, a place with a different set of grapes and rules to allow for a more creative expression. As happens, especially in Burgundy, inheritance can be messing, but traditional, as it happened even to Sylvain’s father, when the Domaine Jean-Marc Morey was founded in 1981, the result of Domaine Albert Morey being split between his two sons Jean-Marc and Bernard, with Jean-Marc going on to be hugely admired for his wines, and his kids, not without difficulties, have even further stardom now. The bulk of Sylvain’s Burgundy holdings, which are tiny, are located almost exclusively in Chassagne Montrachet, where he offers an impressive trio of whites, a Chassagne Montrachet Blanc, a Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru “Champs Gains” and the Chassagne 1er Cru “Caillerets”. In the reds, a Chassagne Montrachet Rouge, Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru “Champ Gains” and the Santeney 1er Cru “Grand Clos Rousseau” of which only micro amounts are available. The Sylvain Morey offering from his Luberon estate include a series of White, Red and Rosé, with this one, which is very Gigondas like, being the first that I’ve tried, and one I’ll be drinking again I’m sure!
($26 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive