2020 Domaine Dureuil-Janthial, Mercurey, Red Burgundy, France.
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 value Burgundy wines, with this 2020 vintage being stellar for their releases, like this vivid ruby hued Mercurey Rouge beauty that delivers pure Pinot Noir class. Tasted blind in a seriously star studded lineup of Burgundy offerings, the minerally Domaine Dureuil-Janthial Rully Blanc and this almost Volnay like Mercurey Rouge way out performed what their more humble villages would normally do, and I loved the aromatics and depth found here, definitely a killer bottle of Burgundy for the price. The palate is still wonderfully fresh and vibrant with black cherry, red currant, blood orange and strawberry fruits leading the way in this medium bodied wine, along with a hint of flinty reduction, rose petals, red apple skin, a touch of chalky earth and delicate herbal tones. 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, like this delicious example.
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, like St. Aubin, Santenay or Saint Romain, Rully makes for some tasty Chardonnays that deliver some of the best bargains in White Burgundy, such as this Vincent makes. For Vincent, as he explains, the magic starts in the vineyards and every since he took over the 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 whites, the whole bunches are pressed slowly and racked straight into barriques for fermentation and aging, and again they are classically reductive and crisply detailed. There’s a lot to admire here, with Dureuil’s collection of Rully Blancs and Rouge, as well as a selection of rare Puligny-Montrachet bottlings, a tasty Aligoté, and even this Mercurey Rouge, especially from this vintage, are all exceptional wines to look out for.
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive