MERCUREY

2017 Vieilles Vignes Domaine François Raquillet

EN PRIMEUR

2017 Mercurey, Vieilles Vignes, is a notch up the ladder from the (Bourgogne Rouge) and it is balanced, full and will age well over the short term. With crunchy tannins and bright red cherry fruit this is a lovely wine. Rating: 17+ L&S (Jan 2019)

* 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.

The Vieilles Vignes (and they are over 60 years old), which is aged in 25-30% new wood, offers gorgeous fruit on the nose and lots of bright plush fruit on the palate. There is good flavour and weight to the juice which is kept fresh by the acidity. A hint of minerality emerges near the end. Straightforward in its approach but lots to enjoy. 'Gourmand, friand' says François, and yes, it is. Drinking range: 2019 - L&S (Oct 2018)

(from vines that average 65+ years of age). A ripe and fresh nose combines notes of plum and dark cherry with spice and soft wood nuances. The supple, round and attractively textured medium weight flavors possess reasonably good depth and a velvety mouth feel while offering solid persistence on the ever-so-mildly warm finale. 88/2021+ Drinking range: 2021 - Rating: 88 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2020)

Revealing aromas of smoky berry fruit, grilled meats and a subtle framing of new wood, the 2017 Mercurey Vieilles Vignes is medium to full-bodied, fleshy, supple and open-knit, with melting tannins and ripe acids. It's more giving and immediate than the more concentrated wines Raquillet produced in 2015 and 2016, which will lend it even greater near-term charm. Drinking range: 2019 - 2029 Rating: 90 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Aug 2019)

Light crimson. Red-cherry fruit. Real drive and direction. Beginning, middle and end to this wine. Not heavy but very beautifully constructed. Throbs on the end. VGV Drinking range: 2019 - 2024 Rating: 16.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2019)

The 2017 Mercurey Vieilles Vignes has a harmonious bouquet of red cherry, raspberry and crushed strawberry aromas. The palate is a little more supple than the Champs Martin, displaying a fine bead of acidity, commendable salinity and good persistence on the finish. Excellent. Drinking range: 2020 - 2028 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

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.

ORDERING VIA OUR WEBSITE:

  • We will respond as quickly as possible with confirmation of your order and your invoice.

Please note that certain wines are on very tight allocations and will first be offered to customers who buy across the range. If you have any queries, please email our primeurs team or speak to your usual L&S contact.

ORDERING VIA EMAIL:

Please feel free to email us at any time. This list can include wines listed as available on the website, as well as those marked 'To Be Advised'. We will reply as soon as possible with confirmation of what we can offer.

STORAGE OPTIONS:

Wines bought en primeur are scheduled to arrive in the UK over the course of the next eighteen months. If you do not wish to take home delivery, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our primeurs team for more information.

While helpful, we do not require a firm commitment on delivery destination to process your primeur order at this stage. Our team will be in contact with you when your wines arrive in the UK to confirm the necessary delivery details.

BURGUNDY EN PRIMEUR FAQ

OFFER: All wines are offered subject to availability and final confirmation.

PRICING: All prices are quoted IN BOND ex-VAT, by the case size stated. Please double check that the desired case size does match what is being offered as wines are variously listed in threes, sixes, dozens, halves and larger formats.

DELIVERY - TIMING: This is a primeur offer so the wines are not yet physically available for delivery. They will be shipped to the UK over the next eighteen months. Generally, wines are shipped to your nominated location once the whole order has landed in our London City Bond account. If you require wines to be delivered by a certain date, please advise us at the time of ordering.

DELIVERY - FEES: In bond delivery to an Elephant Storage account (for more information see 'Storage Options' opposite) is free of charge. Transfer of wines to any third-party bond (i.e. not Elephant Storage) will incur an administration charge of £16.50 + VAT for all orders under £1,000. Please indicate if you would like the wine duty paid and a duty & VAT invoice will be raised once all the wines on your order are available for shipment. Once the relevant duty & VAT has been settled, we will ship the wines to your nominated address as per our normal duty paid Delivery Terms.

PAYMENT: All orders will be invoiced for immediate payment by cheque, cash, debit card or cleared funds to our account. We regret that we cannot accept credit cards for primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.