Wine of the Month: Mercurey AOC

Good red Burg is a beautiful thing.  Bad red Burg is not.  The problem is that it is difficult to find good red Burg at affordable prices.  The best value often comes from the lesser-known and under-appreciated appellations in Burgundy.  The decent ones are still not inexpensive, but they can be affordable, at least for special occasions.  

Enter: Mercurey.   Mercurey is an under-appreciated, often high-performing, appellation for red Burg (ie Pinot Noir).  Our inaugural "Wine of the Month" is Mercurey AOC and we feature two bottles available in Vintages at the LCBO. (We happen to have a particularly interesting selection of Mercurey available to us right now at the LCBO so check out some of the others too.)  And if you have a turkey dinner in your future, consider these wines for a great pairing.

The village of Mercurey is in the heart of the Côte Chalonnaise sub-region of Burgundy.  The Côte Chalonnaise lies directly to the south of the most famous sub-region, the Côte d'Or (comprised of the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune).  While the Côte Chalonnaise does not have any Grand Cru vineyards, it has a number of terrific Premier Cru and Village Vineyards, a number of which produce the elusive affordable and good Pinot Noir.    

The price of this bottle is far from cheap; however, it provides exceptional value for fans of good Burgundian Pinot. It is a complex Pinot with elegant aromatics.  Beautiful floral notes and ripe red cherry, plum and strawberry on the nose followed by a sophisticated mineral and earth-driven palate. All nicely balanced and drinking well now although it would also benefit from another five years in the cellar.  On a blind tasting, I could easily be convinced that this bottle went for at least three times its price.

2015 is considered an exceptional vintage in Burgundy.  Many of the 2015s are not yet ready to drink but this one is already drinking nicely (and should continue to do so for the next five years).  Theulot Juillot is one of the most established vineyards in Mercurey and has been run by the same family since the early 1900s. 

This wine is produced from grapes from "vieilles vignes" planted in 1955 and 1970.  It is a traditional Old World style Pinot but with riper fruit notes due to the 2015 growing conditions.  Ripe strawberry and black cherry with dill notes on the nose and tarter fruit on the palate.  Good acidity and length of finish.