Welcome to the first offer from Fass Selections. I wanted to start with something big, something great and something that I believe to be spectacular and will continue to get better each vintage. There was no other choice than than the brilliant Burgundies of Herve Murat. Finding new producers with star potential in Burgundy is tough as it has been picked over pretty well. His style is also my favorite style of Burgundy. Very little oak, no fining or filtration with awesome freshness and purity. I am extremely lucky to have found Herve Murat and his stellar Burgs. Now that I have my name attached to the wines I represent, I am even more picky than I was before. Many of you that know me, know I am almost too picky when it comes to wine. I like nothing, so when I like something I like to think that it is pretty special. Herve Murat is special.
I am offering a $19.99 Hautes-Côtes de Nuits which is one of the best red wine values I had tasted all year (it should be priced at $30-$35 but I'm passing my savings on to you). I have a second red, a Morey-St. Denis 1er Cru "Les Charrieres" for $49.99 which is a stunning premier cru for the price (I'd feel comfortable selling it for $80 especially in the scarce 2010 vintage - again, I'm buying direct and passing on the savings).
Please E-Mail me by Wednesday 9 PM EST with your orders. After that I cannot accept any more orders.
Finding Herve Murat's winery was a trial in itself. The address I had turned out to be a P.O. Box in Nuits St. Georges. So I scrambled and realized he lived around 20 minutes away from Nuits St. Georges in Concoeur. My sidekick and I drove on and the one road to the village where his winery was was blocked. So I did what any enterprising New Yorker would do. I got out of the car, moved the sign that said don't go down this road and we drove on through. We arrived and Herve was waiting for us amongst lots of construction as his winery was under said construction.
There was Herve in his Ray Bans and his movie star good looks ready to pour me his wines. Mind you, I was just at Domaine Dujac, so I expected a serious drop off in quality. This was my first visit in Burgundy with a producer I wanted to possibly import as well. I was not expecting to swoon over these wines. But swoon I did. The wines blew me away. So pure, so clean, so evocative of terroir and just amazing quality of fruit. Who was this guy?
This is a very small winery with equally small production. Herve farms around 3.7 hectares of all old vines. He owns no sexy terroir but does own some killer parcels in the Haut Cotes de Nuits which is right near his hometown of Concoeur. Herve also buys fruit from some of the better villages in the Cote de Nuits like Morey, Vosne and Chambolle. Herve also does own some amazing old vine plots in the Beaune 1er Cru "Tuvilains."
His grandfather, Andre Murat actually planted the first Pinot Noir vines in Concoeur back in the 50's. This was extremely radical at the time as Concoeur was dominated back then by blackcurrants and they sold all their currants to the powerful Cassis makers in Dijon. Andre Murat had foresight, to say the least.
Herve worked at such estates as Comte Senard and Anne-Francois Gros and decided to break out on his own with the 2005 vintage where all he made was a Hautes Cotes de Nuits "Les Herbues". But he had his own winery and label and was off to the races. He then added micro bought in parcels kind of like Pierre-Yves Colin Morey. Obviously there is no red at Colin Morey but his UK importer compares the wines to Fourrier. I'd be hard pressed to disagree.
In today's offer there are two wines. The first is the 2010 Hautes-Côtes de Nuits "Les Herbues" and the wine is a stunner and was the first wine that Herve poured for me. I tasted it and just smiled. Why did I smile? Because I knew I was in the presence of greatness. 2010 is just plain absurd on a qualitative level and Herve's classy crisp, clean style worked perfectly with the vintage. The aromas were very high-toned but with a lovely dark fruit presence and .....wow...what inner mouth aromas. So full of flavor. Coats the palate. Brambly fruit galore and with the super sappiness that 2010 is known for. This comes from an area right near Concouer which is a hop and skip from Herve's winery. Tasting this blind, you would be hard pressed to say this is NOT village Vosne-Romanee. Really stinkin' great Vosne-Romanee. If this were to go through three tiers, this would be $29.99 or more. Today it is $19.99. A steal. This is one of those rare wines where the fruit and purity present great appeal for wine novices and the complex aromatics make this a joy for even the most serious wine expert. Drink it every day at this price and stock up for parties.
The second wine is a bit sexier, if you will, or from a sexier appellation. It is the 2010 Morey-St. Denis 1er Cru "Les Charrieres." Now we are entering mind blowing territory. This is one of the best quality-price ratios you will encounter in 2010 Burgundy. Situated next to Facconieres, below Clos de la Roche and south of Clos des Ormes, Charrieres has good company right in the the beating heart of Morey. In my notes, I circled the wine which is always a good thing. If I had to use one word to describe this it would be intensely pretty. Okay, two words. Incredibly juicy and ripe, with tiny berry intensity. So much flavor it's like they crammed two bottles worth of wine into one. So much dusty, spicy Morey character and so much class on the palate. Herve's wines are intensely subdued if that makes any sense. So juicy and crammed with tiny black fruits that just explode upon entry. Fine, lithe tannins and outstanding length. The wine just screams class. The sweet, ripe fruit intermingles perfectly with the fine, elegant tannins. Through 3 tiers this is probably $65-$80. Today I have very little and it will be $49.99 a bottle. A ridiculous value. This will have to be allocated and people who place orders for both wines will get first consideration.
Since this is my first offer I will be deluged I am sure. If I could please ask you to hit reply and send me your billing and shipping addresses along with your order. My phone number is 917-912-4355 and you can reach me to give me your CC #'s (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail). You will have an invoice in 48-72 hours and the wines will be shipped in the Fall.
2010 Herve Murat Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits "Les Herbues" $19.99
2010 Herve Murat Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits "Les Herbues"
$113.94 (6 pack)
2010 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru "La Charrieres"
$49.99 (Limited)
P.S. I am getting a huge number of offers for fine and rare wines (older vintages, $75 and up). I will be selling wines from regions including Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Mosel, Piedmont, Tuscany and California). I am creating a second, separate list of fine and rare wines. If you want to be added to this, please contact me at lyle@fassselections.com and I will add you to the second list.
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