The Moreys’ 2007 Saint-Aubin Charmois – from a very stony, iron-rich parcel with vines more than 50 years old – offers ripe pear, pungent citrus oil, and brown spice in the nose; a creamy palate hinting at caramelization; and manages considerable clarity to chalky, stony, alkaline nuances in a finish preserving satisfying primary juiciness, and of soothing length. Morey says he had to do a strict selection because this site was hit by hail. It seems to have succeeded, since to the extent that there are exotic notes or bitterness present, it’s in his Passetemps bottling, and not here.
After inheriting his share of his father, Bernard Morey’s domaine (split with his brother Thomas, on whose wines I have reported separately in this issue), Vincent Morey and his wife Sophie (whose family are wine growers in Santenay) have now combined acreage and produced their first wines out of the Morey family facilities. They began harvesting Chardonnay already at the end of August, achieving potential alcohols that varied by as much as 1.5% over their five days of harvest, and chaptalizing up to a degree to arrive at 13-13.5%. He performed a light clarification and stirred the lees regularly to fatten-up the wines. As a group, this year’s collection was a bit obviously – at times obtrusively – marked by its oak (typically around 30-40% new), and richness seemed sometimes to have been bought at the price of refreshment, clarity, or site-distinctiveness. Like his brother, Vincent Morey reports that he is too short of cellar space to consider a barrel elevage that lasts longer the one year, but he supports the trend toward a longer, watchful stay in tank before the assembled wines are bottled.
Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 334 8191 and also imported by Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802