2012 Morey St Denis Aux Charmes

The 2012 Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Aux Charmes will be joined by another Morey premier cru, “Les Blanchards” from 2014. The “Aux Charmes” is initially quite reticent on the nose, but it opens nicely with attractive floral scents: dried rose petals, hints of bergamot and bay leaf. The palate is medium-bodied, succulent and surprisingly fleshy on the entry. This blossoms beautifully in the glass and represents a distinct level up in quality over the village cru thanks to its superior weight and presence, though it has more to give with three or four years in bottle. This comes recommended – a delicious Morey Saint Denis. Drink 2016-2025. I recall tasting the wines from Domaine Tortochot several years ago. To be honest, they were satisfactory rather than scintillating, workmanlike wines without flair of flamboyance. Meeting Chantal Tortochot and reacquainting myself with their 2012s in London, I was pleased to discover a significant improvement and that is a valuable thing because we need more affordable wines from Gevrey beyond Rousseau and Dugat-Py (which is to take nothing away from those growers.) Part of the reason is the transition to organic viticulture since 2003 and achieving complete conversion in 2008. In addition the talented Sylvain Pataille has been on board in a consulting capacity and that has resulted in more complexity and nuance. The tenets here are straightforward: the fruit completely de-stemmed, twice-daily punch downs and a decent amount of new oak, 100% for the grand cru, 50% for the premier and 25% for the village crus. Domaine Tortochot is one to put back on your list and I look forward to keeping track of their progress in future issues. Importer: PComms International Wine Imorters, tel: 828-274-9323. www.pcommswines.com & several in the UK such as OW Loeb and Fine & Rare Wines.

Lightish cherry red. Lovely spicy fruit on the nose. A touch smoky. Then firm and deep-fruited on the palate. Savoury, long and quite tight at the moment. All in place. (JH)