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MERCUREY

2016 1er Cru Les Vasées Domaine François Raquillet

EN PRIMEUR
Pinot NoirRedFrance,BurgundyCôte ChalonnaiseMercurey1er Cru 13%Les Vasées

This will be bottled in November. Racked a week before we tasted. Because of the racking this is looking quite hairy for now. Rubber, leather and really quite grippy tannins. But nice level of minerality and good dark berry fruit. Then some stony, leafy restraint. This will come together nicely, but will need a couple of years in bottle to fulfill its joyful promise. L&S (Dec 2017)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

Moderately generous wood treatment stops short of masking the notably ripe aromas of plum, spice, warm earth and a whiff of violet. Here too the mouth feel of the middle weight flavors is relatively refined thanks to the firm but fine grained tannins shaping the velvety, long and quite serious finish. At least some patience required. 2024+ Rating: 91 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Oct 2018)

Notes of dark berries, wood smoke, ripe cherry, dark chocolate and coniferous forest floor introduce the 2016 Mercurey 1er Cru Les Vasées, an ample, medium to full-bodied wine with a generous core of fruit framed by taut, chewy tannins. It has tightened up post-bottling, so cellar it for a few years before pulling corks Drinking range: 2021 - 2031 Rating: 91 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Jul 2018)

Impressive concentration on the nose, giving almost jammy red fruit, and semi-firm tannic grip on the palate. Modern and svelte, but still has the classic savoury profile of Burgundy. Drinking range: 2019 - 2029 Rating: 16.5 Richard Hemming MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Feb 2018)

Excellent effort in 2016. Red cherry, dark fruit compote and meaty notes. The layered and ample palate has fine, ripe tannins beautifully cloaked in a glossy core of fruit. Drinking range: 2020 - 2035 Rating: 92 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Oct 2017)

François took over the running of this estate from his father, Jean, in 1990, with his wife Emmanuelle. Records show that the same family have made wine in Mercurey since the 1600s, and Francois is the eleventh generation.

With eleven hectares under vine, François has substantially reduced yields, introduced higher quality oak barrels (up to 50% new wood for the Premiers Crus) and significantly increased the quality of wines made at this domaine. François explains he tries to avoid over-extraction at all costs - his one aim is to deliver the beautifully pure fruit profile he gets out of the old vines - this he does with great success. It is a wonderfully transparent style - combined with good mid-palate weight.

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