Ladoix
1er Cru Hautes Mourottes 2020
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: 28 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 56 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 27 August 2020.
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 20 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 14 months with no racking using a proportion of 40% 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 December 2021.
Number of bottles: 770.
Vintage
Balanced and concentrated
The harvests happened back-to-front! They began with the reds ripening before the whites. The harvest was very disease-free but we had to eliminate sunburnt berries, especially in the case of the Pinot Noir vines as the Chardonnays had coped better with the heat. Quality was definitely good, but relatively low juice yields has resulted in Pinot Noirs with high colour and aromatic intensity. On the other hand, the Chardonnay vines produced adequate yields with a good balance of sugar and acidity. This optimal ripeness enabled us to harvest the red grapes in certain plots according to the ‘vendange entière’ approach, where stalks are fermented along with the grapes.
'Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential. Summer fruit coulis notes definitely have the upper hand in this year’s vintage! The whites are nicely-balanced, but it’s too early to be more precise. Watch this space…’ Grégory Patriat.
Ageing potential: From 7 to 12 years.
Awards
JamesSuckling.com - 95/100
Tasting notes
With its beautiful dark red color with purple hues, this wine reveals intense aromas of violets, morello cherries and notes of wild strawberries. The palate is slightly spicy, fleshy with delicate tannins on the finish.
