RULLY BLANC

2017 Domaine Dureuil-Janthial

EN PRIMEUR

Lovely nose with ripe pears - round and ripe and open, but still taut and bright and fresh to the finish. Drinking range: 2019 - L&S (Dec 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.

Here the expressive nose is actually quite similar to that of the Bourgogne except the oak influence is a bit more pronounced. The slightly more voluminous flavors also possess a lovely texture while exhibiting good length on the citrusy, dry and linear finish. This well-made effort should repay a few years of keeping. Drinking range: 2022 - Rating: 88 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2020)

The 2017 Rully Blanc is superb, unfurling with an enticing bouquet of meadow flowers, apple blossom, fresh green pear and subtle hints of nutmeg. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied and satiny but precise, with a bright, nicely concentrated core that's quite tight-knit despite the wine's youthful charm, concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish. It would be a mistake to underestimate its aging potential: a 1992 that concluded our tasting, derived from the same four parcels that produced this 2017, was still in its prime. Drinking range: 2022 - 2040 Rating: 90 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Aug 2019)

Fresh but ripe citrus aroma, veering towards orange and a light mealy note. Eye-watering freshness – needs food. But good depth of fruit. A wine for acid lovers. Drinking range: 2019 - 2021 Rating: 15.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2019)

The 2017 Rully Blanc has an engaging Granny Smith apple and gravel bouquet that opens nicely in the glass, revealing a whiff of petrichor with aeration. The palate is sharp and citrusy on the entry and very marine-influenced, displaying a twist of bitter lemon toward a finish that is quite powerful, especially for a village cru. Fine. Drinking range: 2020 - 2028 Rating: 88 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

Domaine Dureuil-Janthial is simply the leading domaine of the Côte Chalonnaise. What is more, the astonishing Vincent Dureuil is equally adept at making both white and red wines. Vincent inherited from the Janthial side of his family, who have been in Rully since the eighteenth century. Vincent and his wife Céline took over in 1994. As they say 'because wine is first grown in the vineyard, we have chosen to respect the land and let the soils and vineyards live, to produce committed and accurate wines, of great purity and a frank personality.'

The domaine now extends to 20 hectares, 17 in the Côte Chalonnaise (primarily Rully and Mercurey) with 3 hectares in the Côte d'Or, including vines inherited by Céline in Nuits Saint Georges, and some inherited by Vincent in Puligny. The domaine was originally certified organic in 2009, but after short harvests in 2012 and 2013, Vincent was forced by a late attack of mildew in 2016 to spray with fungicide. The result was that he saved 5 hectares out of the 20, but lost his certification. Stubbornly he immediately set about the three years of 'conversion' and is now certified again.

At the harvest all the grapes are hand-picked into small cases for transport to the winery. The white wines are pressed hard - although he is clear that for this the grapes have to be ripe and in perfect condition, he believes it's necessary with Chardonnay to get into the solid matter of the grape. The juice is allowed to oxidise under the press and S02 is only added 12 hours after the pressing, so that a dark brown liquid, after the settling out, is what goes into barrel where it will be clarified by the fermentation. The barrels are also chosen with great care - they are there to bring out the minerality, to add a touch of density, and they are minimally toasted. The whites get up to 20% new wood, the reds up to 30%.

The vinification of the reds takes place after an intense selection in the vineyard and at the sorting table. For now, despite experiments with some whole-bunch fermentations, Vincent destems almost everything. The grapes go into old open-topped wooden vats and are held at 6C for around eight days of cold maceration before a classic fermentation that reaches up to 34C. After the fermentation they go into barrel for a year, before bottling by March of the year after.

Watch the video introducing Domaine Vincent Dureuil-Janthial.

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