Our allocations of the 2020 Burgundies all follow the same trend: prices up, quantities down. A tiny crop (and even smaller 2021 vintage next in the pipeline) has forced winemakers to raise their prices, and truthfully we can hardly blame them – the wine has never been better, demand has never been stronger, and it costs about the same to farm a hectare of land whether it yields 41 hectoliters or 14.
At the Domaine Amiot, the new 2020 prices reflect the upper echelon of craft at which we think they’ve performed for several years now. And while they may no longer be considered undervalued, if the critics are to be believed the wines are worth every penny. We’re headed back to France next month to confirm the notes in person, and plan to offer our 2020 allocation in this year’s May Futures.
But in the meantime, Chantal Amiot generously offered us the chance to purchase a few of their remaining 2019s. It’s a stellar vintage, and the last one to come with their old pricing. We reserved all they offered, and will be pleased to include them in our March 2021 Futures offering, out next Sunday. Today we are starting with two wines from Morey St. Denis. Quantities (you’ll be hearing this a lot) are very limited – if there are any left they’ll also appear in next Sunday’s March Futures issue.
Even amid a remarkable string us excellent red Burgundy vintages – some hard won, others blessedly simple – the 2019 vintage stands out. William Kelley calls it “thrilling… simultaneously serious and immensely charming.” Neal Martin writes, “It is remarkable, almost irrational, how the finest 2019s maintain detail, clarity and tension and sapid finishes.” Today we’re pleased to offer two 2019 premier crus from Morey-St-Denis: aux Charmes, and les Millandes.
Located just a few yards from the great Grand Cru “Charmes-Chambertin,” Morey-St-Denis 1er cru “Aux Charmes” is typically the softest and most precocious of Amiot’s premier crus, but in 2019 it’s more serious than usual. Today ripe fruit aromas dominate the nose, with dark black currants and cinnamon spice. The mouth is dark, sappy, and woodsy, with toasted red cherries on a long, densely packed finish. Burghound awarded 90 points, finding it “caressing and appealingly textured.” This should drink beautifully over the next 5-8 years.
Second, Amiot’s Morey-St-Denis 1er cru “Les Millandes” from 2019, the family’s tiny plot of 50 year old vines in stony soils scattered with round rocks called “têtes de loups” (wolf heads). Millandes is always one of Amiot’s most precise, sophisticated cuvées, and though the 2019 is riper and more muscular than usual, it retains its buttoned up, polished character.
The nose is multi-layered, a blend of oak and fruit. Burghound awarded 90-92 points and praised its “brooding liqueur-like aromas of plum, dark currant, earth and a whiff of Asian-style tea.” The wine also won a “Tastevinage” from the Chevaliers du Tastevin, the Burgundy trade group that blind tastes through the vintage each year and singles out particularly noteworthy wines.
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Amiot Morey-St-Denis 1er “Charmes” 2019
Ansonia Retail: $1,020
March Futures: $795/case
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Amiot Morey-St-Denis 1er “Millandes” 2019
Ansonia Retail: $1,020
March Futures: $795/case