"Cuvee Thelonious" - One of the Top 1er Cru Vineyards in Burgundy - Pierrick Bouley Stakes His Claim - Ultimate Burgundy Geek/Collector Wine

 Abbaye de Morgeot
 - A Burg Geek's Dream of a Vineyard
 - Only a Handful of Growers Including Ramonet and PYCM
 - Rich, Nutty Wines of Incredible Energy and Minerality

2019 Pierrick Bouley Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru "Abbaye de Morgeot"
 - Only 380 Bottles Made
 - Elite Level White Burgundy from Elite Level Terroir
 - Blind, Will Hold Its Own with Niellon and Ramonet
 - The Nose: Huge High Toned Mineral and Floral Aspects
 - A Memory of Nature: The smell of a plush field after a storm which makes the air so crisp and so clean that you cannot breathe in enough of it
 - Juicy and Explodes with Complex Tiny Mineral Periodic Table Level Complexity
 - Elite Level Minerality
 - Lemony, Rich and Ripe
 - Elegant and Finesse-Driven
 - The Ultimate Burgundy Geek/Collector Wine 
 - $107.99 Per 3-Pack 

2019 Pierrick Bouley St. Romain "En Poillange"
 - Extremely Cool Climactic Conditions
 - A Very Overlooked and Geeky Appellation
 - The Quirky but Great Western Village in the Cote de Beaune
 - Nose: Mineral and Stoney, Terrific Complexity
 - Wild Flowers and Salinity
 - Pithy Fruit Character, Incredibly Refined and Elegant
 - Very Distinctive - if You Haven't Had St. Romain Blanc, You Should Try This 

 - $40.99 on a 4-Pack 

OK, just to clear this up, the first wine is not actually called "Cuvee Thelonious" but that's my nickname for it for two reasons. 

 - The first is fairly literal, Abbaye de Morgeot is a small enclave within Morgeot that is very rare.  It's called Abbaye because it is the parcel around the monks' abbey in Morgeot.  So, of course, this E-Mail had to be about the brilliant jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk.

 - The second is really more stylistic, comparing the wine to Monk's piano playing style.  As I write this, I'm listening to a recording of his brilliant  "Round Midnight" and frankly - I'm in awe. There are jazz pianists and there are jazz pianists and then there is Thelonious Monk.  The music is, of course beautiful, but every note he plays in this 70 year old recording is just so crystal clear it's almost beyond belief. That is, in essence, what you get with great Burgundy and specifically this wine. Yes, it has a range of flavors, which I describe below. But it is the delineation that makes it special. Every flavor /note is just more present and there than in most wines, even very good wines from Burgundy.  It's special wine and befits my homage to one of jazz's all time greats.

Abbaye de Morgeot

Only a handful of growers including Ramonet and PYCM work with this Cru.  It has similar soils to Morgeot. Clay limestone mostly with some gravel which provides terrific drainage. Because of its rarity it can command some of the highest prices in all of Chassagne Montrachet. It makes rich, nutty wines of incredible energy and minerality. Just dynamic. 

The Wines

The 2019 Pierrick Bouley Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru "Abbaye de Morgeot" can be had today for $107.99 a bottle on a 3-Pack. He only made 380 bottles and I do not have many of them. The wine is off the charts, jaw dropping great. It is an emotional experience. 

Wow. God juice. This is so so good. Apple, spice, flowers on the amazingly detailed and super precise nose. Apple pie and Apple rock candy. Gorgeous saline and iodine notes. So stoney and mineral. Such a mesmerizing nose. Zero wood. Just the essence of this great terroir.  

The nose is is immediately something so special with huge high-toned mineral and floral aspects. It's so pure, so clean and so mineral. It's one of the white Burgundies that is so good it smells like a scene in nature rather than a wine. A plush field after a rain with which makes the air so crisp and so clean that you cannot breathe enough in and smell it enough. That is the nose of this wine. It's amazing. A hint of honey, ripe apple. Bosc pear. Huge fruit complexity as well. As it airs huge spice and sense of gout de terroir. Wow. Super spice. I had no idea what to expect. This is elite level white Burgundy from elite level terroir. 

The palate is so so good. Elite level minerality here. Elite level white Burgundy from elite level terroir. So so juicy and clean. This is such a damn clean wine but still is authentic and old school as it gets. It's such an exercise in how great a mineral-dominant white Burgundy can be from elite terroir. The minerality is sick yet it's round, but also has really intense acids that bring about the most complex and juicy finish you can imagine. Remarkably elegant and complex with a to die for texture and a hint of tactile sweetness from gorgeous minerality. Huge acids and so, so structured. Immaculate minerals on the incredibly juicy finish. Wow. This is such a beautiful and grippy wine. Length is endless.  In a blind lineup of Niellon/Ramonet and this, this is right there and can hold its own. It's exceptional wine. So much mineral and spice. Elegant and a sense of deepness.  Super precise. Palate is lemony, rich and ripe with amazing tactile density yet also elegant and finesse-driven. 

Powerful minerality expands on the finish. So, so long. This never ends. Incredible. Genius. It has that
class and majesty that make you stop. It's so, so juicy and explodes with complex tiny mineral periodic table level complexity. So many different little rocks and stones. The finish is so pure and long and dissipates perfectly. Little to no fruit at this young stage but there is an embryonic core that will take form. I think this is a 20 year wine. It's so utterly delicious and beyond pure.  This was bottled in November 2020. 

St. Romain

St. Romain might be the most overlooked appellation in all of the Cote de Beaune. Near the Hautes-Cotes des Beaune it has extremely cool climactic conditions that are generally unfavorable for ripening grapes. Reds will always be rustic in St. Romain but whites can be polished, fresh, deep, elegant, feral and wildly mineral. Not many are imported into the USA but the ones that are are worth a look. And today's is very very worth a look. 

The 2019 Pierrick Bouley St. Romain "En Poillange" can be had for $40.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is a killer mid priced white Burgundy that will put many people on the list on notice about the brilliance of St. Romain. 

Nose of lime flesh, apple pie, apple skins, mineral and super clean. Lemon pie. So unique. So St. Romain. Mineral and stony with terrific complexity on that nose and a kiss of oak that is perfectly integrated. There is a sense of energy and tension on the nose. Wild flowers and salinity as well. Gorgeous. 

Juicy and such a deep palate with incredible length and persistence. Superb acidity and freshness. Elegant, lime explosion. So so mineral. So fine. Love the authenticity of St. Romain. What freshness and depth. This is terrific. Mouthwatering. Layered, intense and pithy fruit character all the way throughout but especially intense in the finish. Such length! This so refined and elegant and so, so long. Very balanced and has a fun aspect as well as a very serious mineral, geeky aspect. So so pure. Lots of grip and structure as well with some floral hints lifting the finish. Insane energy and linearity. 

I've always wanted to import a St. Romain Blanc. Almost had one a few years ago but the estate never wrote back. But I did wander around the village and vineyards. They are on a hill and isolated from all other vineyards in the Côte de Beaune. A persistent wind is present as are many wildflowers and huge piles of rocks that are protected by the French government. The biggest gig in town is the Francois Freres oak barrel factory. The town as well is beautiful, quaint and old.  

2019 Pierrick Bouley Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru 

"Abbaye de Morgeot" - $109.99 ($323.97 3-Pack) 

2019 Pierrick Bouley St. Romain en Poillange - $42.99 

($163.96 4-Pack)