We write about Domaine Alain Michelot at least a few times a year. Their wines are some of our favorites in Burgundy, and epitomize the reputation of Nuits-St. Georges as being earthy, wild, savory, sturdy...
We just received an offer for some older wines from Michelot. I have the utmost faith in these wines living up to my high expectations, and though I've tasted a few of them (and must have notes on most of the 2017s in a notebook somewhere), I don't have notes at the ready, so I'll include John Gilman's tasting notes for you to check out. I'll also include a pithy note from La Revue du Vin de France for an old-vine Bourgogne that is new to me.
Two prices are listed below. The first is the is the regular shelf price. The second lower price includes a 15% discount which will apply if you order 3 or more bottles from this offer. Orders are subject to confirmation, and we would like to know by Monday if you want anything.
... one more thing, yes the Clos de Vougeot is expensive, but for Mr. Gilman to compare Michelot's Clos de Vougeot to those of Mugneret-Gibourg and Hudelot Noellat is huge (HUGE) praise, as they easily go for $1000+...
... and one more thing, a note on the vintages: 2017 should be the fruitiest and perhaps the softest, 2016 made very concentrated and dense wines for the long haul, 2014 was a difficult vintage but Elodie Michelot made some beautiful ethereal wines that year and I expect them to be much more open-knit and ready than the 2016s and 2017s...
Bourgogne 'Calcédoine et Calcite' 2017 - $39, $33.15
Quite lively profile in this wine from 50-year-old vines, whose momentum and crunchy fruit will be unifying. - La Revue du Vin de France
Nuits-St. Georges 1er cru Les Vaucrains 2017 - $100, $85
The inherent elegance of the 2017 vintage is very much in evidence in this beautiful young Vaucrains! The bouquet is pure and very, very refined already, wafting from the glass in a refined blend of sappy red and black cherries, gamebird, nutskin, a complex base of dark soil tones, raw cocoa, nutskin and a smoky topnote redolent of bonfires. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and both soil-driven and beautifully sappy, with suave, fine-grained tannins, tangy acids and outstanding focus and grip on the very long and very classy finish. (Drink between 2027-2065) - John Gilman
Nuits-St. Georges 1er cru Les Vaucrains 2016 - $100, $85
The 2016 Vaucrains chez Michelot was also showing well in early March. The nose delivers a fine and very pure aromatic constellation of black cherries, sweet dark berries, woodsmoke, pigeon, minerally soil nuances and a touch of violet in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, vibrant and quite elegant in profile for a young Vaucrains, with a superb core of fruit, fine-grained tannins and a long, vibrant and beautifully balanced finish. Fine juice. (Drink between 2028-2075) - John Gilman
Nuits-St. Georges 1er cru Les Vaucrains 2014 - $95, $80.75
The Vaucrains was showing very well, albeit properly young and structured out of the blocks. The very black fruity nose this year offers up scents of black cherries, sweet dark berries, coffee bean, a very complex base of soil, woodsmoke and just a hint of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very pure and mineral in profile, with a rock solid core, ripe tannins and a long, focused and tangy finish. Fine, fine juice. (Drink between 2024-2065) - John Gilman
Nuits-St. Georges 1er cru Les Cailles 2017 - $95, $80.75
I really like the style of the 2017 Michelot les Cailles out of the blocks this year, as the wine is a tad more reserved than either the la Richemone or Champs Perdrix, but not closed, just holding a bit back to reward the patient. The nose is pure and very classy, delivering scents of red and black cherries, sweet blackberries, nutskin, a complex base of minerality, woodsmoke, quail and a topnote of raw cocoa. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very transparent in personality, with a great core of fruit, ripe tannins and a very long, very pure and very promising finish. This is excellent. (Drink between 2027-2070) - John Gilman
Nuits-St. Georges 1er cru Les Cailles 2016 - $95, $80.75
The malo here had just finished at the time of my visit. Elodie Michelot noted that the frost damage here was confined mostly to the bottom of her rows in Cailles, with the upper two-thirds of each row nearly untouched, so the yields ended up being better than she had feared right after the frost. This still has a bit of CO2 in it from the malo, but with some coaxing, it is easy to see that it is going to be very good indeed, as it eventually offers up scents of black plums, black cherries, espresso, quail and a fine base of soil tones. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and full-bodied, with ripe tannins, a good core and impressive length and grip. The wine was still obviously agitated at the time of my visit, but there is real quality waiting in the wings here. (Drink between 2027-2070) - John Gilman
Nuits-St. Georges 1er cru Les Cailles 2014 - $87, $73.95
The 2014 les Cailles was in a better mood for tasting than the la Richemone and offers up a very stylish and sappy nose of red and black cherries, red plums, cocoa, gamebird, a fine base of soil and a nice touch of nutskin in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and already quite suave on the attack, with a sappy core, fine focus and grip and a long, ripely tannic and tangy finish. A lovely example of les Cailles in the making. (Drink between 2023-2060) - John Gilman
Nuits-St. Georges 1er cru Aux Champs Perdrix 2017 - $95, $80.75
The 2017 Champs Perdrix is quite black fruity in personality this year, but also very pure and sappy as well. The nose delivers a fine combination of black cherries, sweet dark berries, pigeon, dark soil tones, woodsmoke, a hint of nutskin and a very gentle framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and again, quite sappy at the core, with lovely mineral drive, suave, ripe tannins and lovely balance on the long, nascently complex and lovely finish. Just add a bit of patience and voila, a superb bottle of Champs Perdrix! (Drink between 2026-2060) - John Gilman
Nuits-St. Georges 1er cru Aux Champs Perdrix 2016 - $93, $79.05
The Michelots’ vines in Champs Perdrix celebrated their eightieth birthday in 2016. I was hoping to get a good look at this wine, but it too had a very late finish to its malo and was even more shut down than the les Cailles. There is plenty of pure and sappy black fruit here, as well as a very good soil signature, but the wine was grumpy and hard to take a proper note on. The palate is full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with fine-grained tannins, tang acids and impressive length. I am sure this will be excellent, but it was not happy about being disturbed in early March! (Drink between 2027-2065) - John Gilman
Nuits-St. Georges 1er cru Aux Champs Perdrix 2014 - $87, $73.95
The Michelots’ vines in Champs Perdrix are seventy-eight years old, and these old vines in stony soils have really excelled in this vintage. The bouquet is flat out beautiful, offering up a sappy mélange of black cherries, plums, roses, gamebird, raw cocoa, plenty of stoniness, nutskin and a deft touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and sappy at the core, with ripe tannins, lovely focus and grip and a long, vibrant and youthful finish. This will be a terrific wine. (Drink between 2023-2060) - John Gilman
Morey-St. Denis 1er cru Les Charrieres 2017 - $83, $70.55
The 2017 Morey St. Denis “les Charrières” from Elodie Michelot was a bit reduced at the time of my visit, but with a bit of coaxing, blossomed nicely to reveal a black fruity nose of blackberries, black cherries, dark soil tones, raw cocoa, violets and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and sappy at the core, with excellent length and grip, ripe tannins and a focused and promising finish. Elodie notes that this was the last wine to finish its malo at the end of March and so the wine is a bit behind in its evolution in cask as a result. Still, it is easy to see that this will be quite good. (Drink between 2025-2065) - John Gilman
Morey-St. Denis 1er cru Les Charrieres 2016 - $83, $70.55
The 2016 Michelot les Charrières was also in fine form at the time of my visit. This is a quintessentially elegant and soil-driven example of the vintage, delivering superb aromatic complexity in its mélange of cassis, dark berries, espresso, gamebird, a classy base of dark soil tones and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is very pure, focused and refined, with its full-bodied format sporting a sappy core, fine soil inflection, ripe, seamless tannins and a long, tangy and complex finish. Lovely juice in the making. (Drink between 2026-2065) - John Gilman
Morey-St. Denis 1er cru Les Charrieres 2014 - $75, $63.75
The Morey “Charrières” was also in fine form and showing excellent potential at the time of my visit, delivering a fine constellation of sappy, pure black cherry and pomegranate fruit tones, dark soil, raw cocoa, woodsmoke and just a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off lovely mid-palate depth, with very good sappiness and transparency, suave tannins and a very long, vibrant and classy finish. A beautiful bottle of Morey in the making. (Drink between 2022-2060)
Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2017 - $244, $207.40
The 2017 Clos Vougeot from Domaine Michelot is another stellar bottle in the making. The nose was just a touch reduced at the time of my visit, but with swirling, this blows easily off to reveal a superb aromatic constellation of red plums, red and black cherries, raw cocoa, gamebird, a fine base of soil elements, woodsmoke and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full and sappy at the core, with outstanding soil signature, suave tannins and a very long, youthful and complex finish. This bottling is right up there at the very top of my list in Clos Vougeot alongside of the Mugneret sisters and the Hudelot-Noëllat version! (Drink between 2029-2080) - John Gilman
Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2014 - $237, $201.45
The 2014 Clos Vougeot from Domaine Michelot was raised in less than thirty percent new wood this year and was absolutely shining at the time of my visit. The deep, pure and simply gorgeous bouquet delivers scents of red plums, red and black cherries, a superb signature of soil, incipient notes of the venison to come, woodsmoke and a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and impeccably balanced, with a fine core, lovely focus and balance and a long, ripely tannic and soil-driven finish. This is simply one of the best examples of Clos Vougeot made in the Côte these days! (Drink between 2025-2075)
If this offer is of interest, please let us know by Monday, or sooner. Orders are subject to confirmation. The wines should arrive in April.