Dette er vinen fra de højest beliggende vinmarker i Morey-Saint-Denis opkaldt efter den gamle muldyr sti der førte op til Abbaye Saint-Vivant de Vergy hvorfra benediktinermunkene i mere end 600 år førte tilsyn med deres mange vingårde nede i dalen. En af dem var den nu verdensberømte Grand Cru Clos de Tart, der i efteråret 2017 blev solgt til den franske milliardær François Pinault for omkring 1,5 milliarder kroner.
Christophe Perrot-Minot ejer 3 små parceller (heriblandt 0,5 ha. klods op ad muren, der omkranser Clos de Tart) på de godt 5 ha., som vi idag kender som Rue de Vergy. Trods det fornemme naboskab lige ovenfor Clos de Tart og Bonnes Mares, blev stedet længe ikke regnet for noget særligt, men det ændrede sig, da de daværende lodsejere på skråningen i begyndelsen af 1980'erne enedes om at rive alt op og plante nyt. Efterhånden som vinstokkene fik lidt alder, begyndte der at dukke bemærkelsesværdige vine op, og i dag, hvor vinstokkene er i deres bedste alder, leverer Rue de Vergy på et niveau, som angiveligt vil føre til, at dette lieux-dits rykker op i 1. Cru næste gang klassifikation i Morey-Saint-Denis revideres.
Druerne er naturligvis håndhøstede, og da de i 2019 var noget nær perfekte blev sorteringen både oppe i vinmarken og nede foran kælderen en formsag, og Christophe valgte igen at arbejde med mange hele drueklaser. De gennemgik indledningsvis en såkaldt kold maceration ved 14 grader sammen med de afstilkede druer i rustfrit stål i en uges tid inden temperaturen blev hævet, og den egentlige gæring fik lov til at gå i gang. Efter gæringen fik vinen lov til at sætte sig i 48 timer inden den blev fyldt på fade (20% nye) fra Tronçais og Bertrange leveret af Remond i Ladoix-Serrigny. Vinen er modnet i 14 måneder uden omstikninger og med kun en enkelt omrøring forud for det endelige sammenstik i en lille ståltank og aftapningen på flaske, der skete uden klaring eller filtrering.
Den internationale begejstring for Christophe Perrot-Minot er til at tage og føle på:
The darling of the Francophone wine press, Christophe Perrot-Minot, continues his evolution in the direction of textural finesse and aromatic range: the extraction and richness of yesteryear have given way to melting tannins and ethereal aromas, exemplified by a beautiful set of 2019s.
William Kelley - The Wine Advocate - Januar 2021
“The most important thing was to have the freshness in the wines,” Christophe Perrot-Minot told me. “We harvested from 17 to 25 September. The challenge was to eliminate the berries that were dry or over-ripe. For the vinification there were no problems at all. The average yield was around 20hl/ha. We did much more remontage than pigeage and will rack at the end of the year. There is a maximum of 20% new oak and around 50% whole bunches across the range. The malos were all finished within two months and the wines will be bottled around the end of March.”
Highlights in 2019 include a very impressive Chapelle-Chambertin and voluminous Mazoyères-Chambertin, closely followed by the Griottes-Chambertin. I also loved the Nuits Saint-Georges Richemone Cuvée Ultra that will be dangerously seductive. There is always a glossy veneer to these wines, not that dissimilar to Arlaud in some ways, and they deserve requisite time in the cellar.
Neal Martin - Vinous - December 2020
Christophe Perrot-Minot commented that 2019 "is an excellent but relatively tiny vintage as my net yields came in at only 22 hl/ha. The growing season was again very hot and dry and while we didn't have much disease pressure, the flowering did not go especially well and thus there was a lot of shatter and a high incidence of shot berries. The summer was especially dry, but we didn't have too much hydric stress in the vines, or at least it seemed as though there was less than what we experienced in 2018. This may have been due to the fact that the nights were cooler in 2019 and thus there was less acid burn off and less dehydration. There was also strong luminosity, which helped the fruit achieve very good phenolic maturities. We picked from the 17th of September and brought in super-clean fruit that required very little sorting. I used around 50% whole clusters for the vinifications and used no more than 20% new wood for the élevage. As to the wines, they are more elegant and more tension-filled than their 2018 counterparts with no excess ripeness. I especially like how refreshing they are because even though they're still extremely young, they make you feel like drinking them. Add to this fine terroir transparency and you have a vintage that should be extremely popular among Burgundy lovers." As the scores and commentaries confirm, I was seriously impressed with the quality I found here as Perrot-Minot's 2019s are wonderfully pure and vibrant.
Allen Meadows - The ultimate Burgundy reference - Januar 2021
