Description
Meursault “Vieilles Vignes” Roche de Bellene, Nicolas Potel 2020
Domaine de Bellene, Beaune
“From the start, Nicky Potel’s range of wines was impressive, both for its breadth – he seemed to have a knack for securing parcels which had eluded his peers – and for its high quality. The wines are well-coloured, full without being sturdy, rich and succulent, pure and elegant.” Clive Coates MW, The Wines of Burgundy
Nicolas Potel established Domaine de Bellene in 2005 after the purchase of various old vine plots in some of the best sites in Burgundy. A dynamic and highly talented winemaker, Nicolas originally cut his teeth at Domaine de La Pousse d’Or in Volnay, which at the time was run by his father Gérard Potel. The Domaine de Bellene vineyards are situated in selected villages from Santenay in the south to Nuits St Georges and Vosne Romanée in the north. All vines are between 50 to 110 years old and are cultivated following biodynamic principles and harvested by hand. The winemaking is low interventionist with nothing, other than small doses of sulphur, added to the wines.
For vinification, Nicolas does not add cultured yeast and uses only those found naturally on the grapes; he does not add sugar, neither acids, nor nutrients, nor enzymes. A sorting table is used for the reds: 40% are destemmed, with the rest being vinified as in “whole bunch”. The fermentations take place in either stainless steel tanks or old oak casks, lasting from 15 to 25 days with temperatures up to 32°C. Pressing with a vertical press allows Nicolas to obtain a clear bright juice and avoids the use of enzymes or the need to filter. The vats are then emptied by gravity and the wine is matured in barriques (1-3 years old) for 12-15 months. For white wines, the grapes are pressed directly as whole bunch, letting the juice flow by gravity into stainless steel tanks. After 2 days, the juice is transferred (by gravity) into oak barrels where fermentation occurs. 12 months maturation prior to bottling.
55 years old which grow upon beds of limestone and clay rich soils. After a manual harvest the grapes undergo native yeast fermentation in the barrel and 100% malolactic fermentation. The wine is then aged in French oak of which 20% is new. The wine receives no bâtonnage, with a light fining and filtration before bottling.
Aromatically this wine has emerging nuances of white flowers and honey suckle, as well as browned butter and orchard fruits. On the palate it is full bodied with bruised yellow apples and delicate puff pastry.
Grape: 100% Chardonnay
Organic
