MOREY SAINT DENIS

2017 1er Cru Faconnières Domaine Stéphane Magnien

EN PRIMEUR

Immediately this is very indulgent. A great intense feel to the fruit. Luxuriant. Nicely polished and sleek. Good width. Great intensity. Really joyful and then that fresh feel to finish. Sleek fruit and still tension. Long and so moreish. Similar idea to the fins grains but longer and better. Stephane says - un bon Premier Cru, qui monte - it certainly does seem to improve each year. Very supple tannins make this one of our picks of the vintage, really good. Drinking range: 2021 - 2028L&S (Nov 2018)

* 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 2017 Morey-Saint-Denis Faconnières 1er Cru has a lifted, perfumed, rather modern bouquet with a veneer of new oak. It’s attractive, and while it initially does mask the terroir more than its peers, it blossoms in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins and fine acidity but rather rough around the edges, while the finish is velvety-smooth and utterly seductive. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2017 tasting. Drinking range: 2023 - 2037 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2022)

Weighty purple in colour, with a ripe and generous nose. Charming, gorgeous and with first class concentration. The fruit is just at the right balance of ripeness, with some good acidity at the back. Long and complete. Rating: 95 Jasper Morris - Inside Burgundy  (Sept 2021)

Young Stéphane is coming into his own at this fourth-generation domaine since taking the reins in 2008, showing increasing transparency to the terroir. Juicy and spicy attack. Slightly burly in the middle, but with a smooth texture and finishing on white pepper aromatics and a touch of salty mineral. Rating: 91 Sarah Marsh MW, The Burgundy Briefing (Apr 2019)

Mid crimson. Peppery and fragrant and very Morey. Succulent yet dry tannic finesse. So refined on the palate, not a blockbluster but a beauty. Drinking range: 2022 - 2030 Rating: 17 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2019)

Stéphane's is a small domaine, a mere 4.5 hectares, with one full hectare of that in regional wine - Passetoutgrains and Bourgogne - but it is blessed with two Grands Crus and also a long history of not messing with nature. No pesticides have ever been used on this land, and the plants are nearly all the old 'Pinot tordu' - twisted Pinot with its gnarly stems which are less vigorous than the modern clones and said by many to make wines with more finesse.

Stéphane chaptalizes only to extend fermentations - these are wines which his father Jean-Paul used to describe as 'sage en alcool' - from 12 to 13% - the old vines do not make much alcohol. Wood use is also discreet, even though Stéphane has increased the proportion, he does not exceed 50% new wood on the Grands Crus, 25% on the Premiers Crus and on the village appellations, 15% new wood for one year only, then all into older barrels.

Stéphane says that he aims to make wines with more richness than his father's, 'but not black angular wines which have less relief. Wines which leave your mouth clean and clear, refreshed and revived and, above all, wanting another glass'. He destems 100%, gives the grapes a six-day maceration, then a classical fermentation with just two pigeages, and a little remontage (pumping over) at the end.

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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.

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BURGUNDY EN PRIMEUR FAQ

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