“Romain Taupenot has been behind the ascent of Taupenot-Merme in recent years,” wrote Neal Martin for Wine Advocate on tasting these 2016s “It is almost as if fashion has caught up with them, traditionally furrowing their own path of slightly leaner, terroir-driven wines that were as much about texture as fruit, now many growers have changed back more to this style.” It’s obviously a great thing when an estate’s long-term methods, ethos and aesthetics find themselves en vogue, but it means a whole heap more when a steadfast faith is matched with a steady trajectory, as has been the case at this domaine in Morey-Saint-Denis. As Martin notes: “Meanwhile, I think Romain has refined the quality here in recent years, the wines showing better integration of whole bunches (although everything was destemmed in 2016), tweaking the fruit up just a shade, certainly achieving more refinement and sophistication.”
As elsewhere in Burgundy, 2016 was filled with challenges for Romain and Virginie Taupenot. Overall, production was down 45% from normal thanks largely to frost and mildew. Mercifully, warm conditions in July, August and September allowed this smaller crop to get good and ripe. 2016, Romain summarised to Stephen Tanzer of Vinous Media, is about fruits and flowers. “The wines combine the volume and ripeness of the ‘15s but they’re less sweet and show better energy—like a cross of 2015 and 2014,” he told Tanzer.
That’s an attractive proposition indeed for red Burgundy, and one that Allen Meadows of Burghound also found appealing: “I also found much to like in the Taupenot 2016s and particularly so at the villages level.”
THE WINES
2016 Taupenot-Merme Passetoutgrain RRP $39
Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes for this traditional regional blend are sourced from vineyards around Morey. It’s a juicy wine displaying high-toned raspberry and cherry notes with a touch of peppery spice and fresh, natural acidity.
2016 Taupenot-Merme Bourgogne Rouge RRP $69
The 2016 Bourgogne Rouge has a lifted, quite floral bouquet that offers pretty blueberry and black cherry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, slightly grainy tannin, although it just needs a little more fleshiness to develop on the finish. If it does, it may perch at the upper end of my banded score. 86-88 points. Neal Martin, Wine Advocate December 2017
2016 Taupenot-Merme Saint-Romain Rouge RRP $80
Domaine Taupenot-Merme owns 1.3Ha of Pinot Noir vines in Saint-Romain. These grow in the Le Marsain, En Poillange and Le Marsain lieux-dits, and have an average age of 45 years.
2016 Taupenot-Merme Chambolle-Musigny RRP $181
The 2016 Chambolle-Musigny Village has a tight-knit bouquet, earthier than the Auxey-Duresses with a touch of damp woodland complementing the sultry black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, bright red berry fruit laced with sea salt, leading to quite a precise and sappy finish that has more joie-de-vivre than the aromatics. Given the challenging growing season, this is a great success. 88-90 points. Neal Martin, Wine Advocate December 2017
2016 Taupenot-Merme Gevrey-Chambertin RRP $181
The 2016 Gevrey-Chambertin Village has been a consistent performer at the domaine. It has a clean and precise bouquet although it does not quite convey the same energy and fruit concentration as the Morey-Saint-Denis. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, elegant and bright with tart red fruit with a tang of spice towards the finish. This seems to meliorate as it goes on. 88-90 points. Neal Martin, Wine Advocate December 2017
(less than 25% new oak here): Healthy dark red. Very pure but subdued nose shows some soil tones to go with the black raspberry and spices. Broader, drier and more classic than the Morey villages; perhaps richer but less expressive today and a bit dominated by its spicy oak element. Made from four parcels: La Justice, Bel-Air, Seuvrées and Craite-Paille. 87-90 points. Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media January 2018
Transparent crimson. Silky and perfumed and sweet. Very hedonistic. Lighter than the average Gevrey but very juicy and fun! Really nice wine. Great balance and approachability already. 16.5/20 Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson January 2018
2016 Taupenot-Merme Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru La Riotte RRP $272
The 2016 Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru La Riotte has an expressive and engaging bouquet, a mixture of red and black fruit, pressed flowers and bergamot tea, complex and gaining intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, very well-judged acidity, maybe a little conservative but very precise with a sense of energy and tension conveyed on the finish. Fortunately there is a good volume of this wine this vintage — try to buy some. 91-93 points. Neal Martin, Wine Advocate December 2017
(this vineyard produced the highest crop level in 2016 at 45 hectoliters per hectare but also a lofty 13.5% potential alcohol): Bright ruby. An essence of crushed black fruits on the nose, accented by licorice and violet. A bit more relaxed in the early going than the Combe d’Orveau but without quite the density for its broad, dusty tannins. Distinctly darker than the 2015 version of this wine but without quite the same complexity. For his part, Taupenot finds these tannins more refined than usual for this cuvée. 89-91 points. Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media January 2018
Tank sample. Mid cherry red. Another pretty, scented wine but a little more savoury than the Gevrey. The tannins are firmer and drier, the wine a little more upright and yet still highlights the fruit on the finish. This has greater longevity, but I enjoyed the Gevrey more at this young stage. 17+/20 Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson January 2018
2016 Taupenot-Merme Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Combe d’Orveau RRP $363
The 2016 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Combe d’Orveau was reduced from eight or nine barrels to just a couple this year due to frost. The bouquet tends toward black rather than red fruit, touches of orange blossom developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, quite linear and strict with a grainy textured, even tobacco-tinged finish that lingers nicely in the mouth. Though I have a preference for last year’s 2015, this is still a decent wine in a difficult, traumatic vintage. 89-91 points. Neal Martin, Wine Advocate December 2017
(Taupenot made just over a barrel of wine from 0.5 hectare, which equates to about five hectoliters per hectare): Dark red with ruby highlights. The high-pitched nose communicates a tight kernel of black cherry stomp, spices and stony minerality accented by licorice and black pepper. Densely packed and distinctly powerful but neither unwieldy nor hot; really saturates the palate with medicinal black cherry and licorice. Finishes with broad, serious, fine-grained tannins and noteworthy verve. This very dark, tactile Combe d’Orveau is hard to scrape off your palate. 90-93 points. Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media January 2018
2016 Taupenot-Merme Mazoyères-Chambertin Grand Cru RRP $577
The 2016 Mazoyeres Chambertin Grand Cru has more sophisticated and mineral-driven bouquet than the Charmes-Chambertin, with a mixture of red and black fruit, damp earth, minerals and pressed flowers. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, a gentle grip in the mouth, quite effervescent in the mouth that tingles with its coiled-up energy on the finish. This is a deeply impressive follow-up to the 2015 and it may improve once in bottle. It has great potential, the standout from Taupeont-Merme this year. 93-95 points. Neal Martin, Wine Advocate December 2017
Dark red-ruby. Aromas of blueberry, black cherry, licorice and crushed warm stones. Thick but pungently spicy and bright on entry, then more backward and soil-driven in the middle palate than the Charmes-Chambertin. A bit less sweet than the Charmes as well, showing slightly edgy acidity and finishing with a firm tannic spine. This deep, layered wine, which Romain Taupenot believes will ultimate be “stronger” than the Charmes, will require substantial patience. 91-94 points. Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media January 2018
Racy and beautifully textured. Almost more Morey than Gevrey with its insouciant, lifted nature. Lovely wine! 17.5/20 Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com January 2018