Ladoix
1er Cru Hautes Mourottes 2019
If you are coming from Dijon, it is at Ladoix that the Côte de Beaune begins. Ladoix shares with Aloxe-Corton and Pernand-Vergelesses the honour of producing the famous wines of the hill of Corton.
Origin
Created in 1970, there are just 94 ha of vineyards in Ladoix, ¾ of which produce red wine. The appellation features 11 Premier Cru vineyards which benefit from eastern or south-east/southern exposure with altitudes varying between 230 and 325 m. The soils at the upper part of the slope where Les Hautes Mourottes is located are pebbly, reddish, limestone based with a high proportion of marls and considerable flint-limestone fragments.
Les Hautes Mourottes is located just a few metres from the famous Corton-Renardes vineyard. In old local dialect,
Mourottes referred to walls which would indicate that the vineyard was once surrounded by walls.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: stony, reddish and limestone. Presence of marls.
Orientation: East
Surface area under vine: 0.2055 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 25 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 55 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 19 September 2019.
The grapes were handpicked. First sorting in the vineyard, second on the sorting table upon receipt of the harvest.
At the winery: 50% of grapes were destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration with 50% whole bunches lasted a total of 21 days including 3 days of cold maceration (12°C). Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). 3 punchings of the cap.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 15 months with no racking using a proportion of 45% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time for very delicate oaking.
Bottling
Bottling: the wine was not fined but was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity in February 2021.
Number of bottles: 670.
Vintage
A legendary vintages?
According to Grégory Patriat, this second harvest at the Ursulines winery will go down as a legendary vintage just like 1969, 1979, 1999, 2009, and 2019, because the concentration in the wines is very high indeed. Years with drought and low yields are always great vintages in Burgundy. We had some new premier crus come online last year, with three in Chambolle-Musigny, one in Gevrey-Chambertin, and one in Nuits-Saint-Georges; Le Clos des Argillères. Furthermore, we revived our tradition of producing white wines in villages better known for their reds, with a white Fixin.
Ageing potential: From 5 to 10 years.
Tasting notes
Its garnet color has purple reflections. This wine reveals intense aromas of black fruits such as cherry in alcohol, mixed with some minty notes. The palate is dense and silky with a long finish.
