Clos Saint-Denis
Grand CruGrape Variety :
Pinot Noir.Vineyard
Site: the smallest Grand Cru vineyard of Morey (except for the parcel of Bonnes-Mares), Clos Saint-Denis is located north of the village. Like all the other Grand Crus of Morey and Gevrey, it has a due east exposure.History & tradition: according to tradition, the monks from the Church of Saint-Denis de Vergy (hence the name) planted this vineyard at the beginning of the 13th Century.
Soil: brown limestone on a Middle Jurassic layer; strewn with angular, flat stones that resemble broken china.
Viticulture
Plantation density: 10,000 vinestocks/ha in order to extract as much as possible from the terroir and limit the production of each vine stock.Pruning: Guyot.
Yield: 36 hl/ha - purposely low, in order for the grapes to reveal every nuance of the terroir.
Grape Supply: grapes and wines provided by regular supply partners.
Vinification
Maceration: Ageing
Type: in barrels (20% in new oak)Length: 14 to 18 months
Origin of the wood: French oak forests
Weathering of the wood: Joseph Drouhin insists on total control of the weathering for a period of 3 years, one of the contributing elements to the elegance of the wine.
Throughout the ageing process, decisions are taken only after careful tasting evaluation, barrel by barrel. The data obtained is then completed through technical analysis. As with every other Joseph Drouhin wine, absolute priority is given to the true expression of terroir and character of the vintage.
Tasting note by Véronique Boss-Drouhin
"Deep ruby red colour. On the nose, aromas of ripe cherry, lightly spiced up by a touch of cigar and exotic wood. With age, the aromas take on animal or gamey notes. The best time to drink a Clos Saint Denis is when the wine is mature (5 to 10 years of age, depending on the vintages) in order to enjoy the perfect harmony that exists between acidity, "gras" (velvety texture) and tannin. A lingering aftertaste of candied fruit is characteristic of this delicious wine".Vintage
As every year we sorted the grapes at once to select the most beautiful bunches that were to be kept in whole clusters and to remove berries that could present a lack of maturity. The sanitary state was very satisfactory with almost no rot.
Very quickly at the beginning of the fermentations the colours were released and gradually the varietal character of Pinot Noir was expressed. We favoured this aromatic expression to look for balanced wines without too much power. The tannins are nicely melted, the acidity levels from normal to low. The fermentations and macerations lasted about 3 weeks.
In the course of the winter, the malolactic fermentations were triggered and proceeded sometimes rather quickly.Serving
Temperature: 16°C (61-62°F).Cellaring: 5 to 15 years.