Pierre Morey/Morey Blanc
Visiting Burgundy's vineyards, part 3 

Website: www.morey-meursault.fr

Next stop was Domaine Pierre Morey, where we met with Pierre’s daughter Anne (above), who co-manages the Domaine with her father.

Pierre Morey (right) is best known as the winemaker for the celebrated Domaine Leflaive, but he also has his own domaine. Founded in 1971, he has 11 hectares of vines, two-thirds of which are white. He has plots in Meursault, Monthélie, Pommard and Puligny Montrachet, with a couple of Grand Cru holdings.

Anne’s father was 10 years old when he started working in the vineyards. The Morey family have been living in Meursault since 1793, and since then his family have always been involved in wine. Morey’s father Auguste was one of the share-croppers for Domaine Comte Lafon in the days when Lafon’s 14 hectares of vines were divided among 9 share-croppers.

In 1971 Pierre began his own domain. Then, in the 1980s Lafon decided to take back their vineyards from the share-croppers, and this meant that the available vineyards for Pierre’s domain reduced. Because of this, in 1992 he established a negociant business, Morey Blanc. Fruit and musts are purchased from growers, with the winemaking taking place at Domaine Pierre Morey.

In 1988 Pierre became winemaker for Domaine Leflaive, and remained there for 20 years, leaving in 2008. Morey witnessed the illness of the vines during this time, and realised that the chemical sales rep was deciding the spraying program, which only made things worse. Ann-Claude Leflaive went to a seminar with Nicolas Joly and found it a revelation. Leflaive started experimenting with biodynamics, while Morey took his whole domaine organic in 1991. Since 1992 the domaine has been organic (certified by Ecocert), and since 1998 it has been biodynamic (certified by Biodyvin).

‘We use the basic biodynamic rules,’ says Anne, ‘but also we use our own sensitivity for each plot: the personal touch is important.’

‘The purpose of biodynamics is to build up the immune system of the vines so they can resist problems,’ says Anne. ‘We want a balance in the vineyard. We can have illnesses and insects, but the vines are strong enough to fight against them. One of the first main jobs is to get the roots to dig deeper. We use the calendar as much as possible, but running a business means it is not always possible.’ Anne adds that if in the vineyard a plot looks weaker or not in harmony, then they’ll make sure they use the right day, and it’s possible to pick the right days for cellar work.

THE WINES

Domaine Pierre Morey Bourgogne Aligote 2007
Very precise, herby and lemony with nice freshness. Crisp and minerally with herby fruit. Deliciously bright. 87/100

Domaine Pierre Morey Bourgogne Chardonnay 2007
Gently lemony, herby nose. The palate is fresh and gently toasty with some mineral notes. Fresh, herby and a bit minerally: tight, focused and savoury. 89/100

Morey Blanc Saint Aubin 1er Cru Les Combes 2007
Tight, minerally and savoury with lovely minerality and acidity. Tight and backward with some structure. Firm and savoury. 89/100

Domaine Pierre Morey Meursault 2007
From three different parcels. Nicely toasty, mineral nose. Some breadth, but it’s quite precise and savoury. The palate is taut and mineralic with lovely focus and acidity. Very linear and intense with citrus notes. 91/100

Domaine Pierre More Meursault Le Tesson 2007
Focused, tight nose with herbs and minerals. The palate is fresh, herby and intense with profound minerality and good acidity. Very fresh, savoury and linear. 92/100

Domaine Pierre More Meursault Le Tesson 2006
This had to be harvested fast because there was a risk of over-maturity. Warm, rounded, toasty, spicy nose. The palate is rich, toasty and broad with nice acidity. A rich, bold style with nice weight. 90/100

Domaine Pierre More Meursault Le Tesson 2005
Interesting nose: complex and reductive with spicy matchstick, mineral notes. Quite profound. The palate is mineral and tight with real intensity. Lovely savoury, mineral depth here: striking stuff with taut acidity. Will last a long time. 94/100

Domaine Pierre More Meursault Le Tesson 2004
Very striking, reduced nose with matchstick and a bit of cabbage. Complex and savoury, with lots of interest. The palate is tight and acidic with herby, cabbagey notes and lots of minerality. Really reduced with lots of potential for the future. I’d forget about this for six years and come back to it then. 92/100

Morey Blanc Meursault Charmes 2007
Delicate yet intense nose with complex mineral and toast notes. The palate has some breadth and nice spicy, minerally depth. Focused and concentrated with nothing sticking out. Lemony, toasty and intense with linearity. 91/100

Domaine Pierre Morey Meursault 2003
Still focused but richly fruited, with bold nutty character. This is evolving nicely: a full, rich, toasty, nutty, savoury wine that is developing nicely. Not classic, but deliciously focused. Good concentration. 90/100

Domaine Pierre Morey Meursault 2002
Beautiful nose is opening out nicely. Gently herby with a hint of cabbage. Fresh and intense with lovely acidity. Focused and minerally. Taut, youthful and sophisticated: a really fabulous effort. 94/100

Domaine Pierre Morey Monthelie 2006
Pale cherry colour. Lovely open, expressive nose with cherries, herbs and fresh sappiness. Very bright, vibrant, juicy palate. Simple but lively, and delicious. 89/100

Domaine Pierre Morey Volnay Santenots 2006
Wonderful nose: focused, vibrant and fresh with cherry fruit and sophisticated spicy notes. Savoury and precise. The palate has lovely fresh, bright cherry fruit with wonderful minerality. Bright, fresh and complex. 92/100

This vineyard was bought in 2004 and had been managed conventionally with lots of chemicals, but biodynamics has had effects really quickly. They had to plough lightly at first because the roots were all at the surface. The way that the vineyard and vines improves each year reassures them that biodynamics is the way to go. ‘Every year the wine feels it has more personality and more energy,’ says Anne. ‘It is great to see how a vineyard in a bad state can be brought back to life.’

Wines tasted June 2009

Notes from April 2005:

Pierre Morey Bourgogne Aligoté 2000
Very fresh with good acidity: a crisp, lean, mineralic style of white. What you’d expect from Aligoté. Very good+ 87/100

Pierre Morey Bourgogne Chardonnay 2000
Subtly nutty, fresh nose. The palate is fresh and fruity with good acidity. Nice crispness to this white, which is made in a lean mineralic style, and is evolving slowly. Very good+ 88/100

Pierre Morey Meursault 2000
Lovely complex nutty nose is fresh and full but with some nutty, smoky depth. Really appealing. The palate has lovely acidity and is fresh and minerally. Quite complex with some racy herby notes. Very good/excellent 91/100

Pierre Morey Monthélie 2000
This red wine has a fresh cherry fruit nose with an appealing spicy edge to the forward fruit. Vibrant, spicy high-acid palate with a nice savoury, spicy twist. Not a big wine, but very expressive. Very good/excellent 90/100

Pierre Morey Meursault Les Durots 2000
Fresh, vibrant spicy nose with cherryish fruit. The palate is lively with a herby edge to the fruit. Tasty stuff with a nice savoury character. Very good+ 89/100

BURGUNDY SERIES
Joseph Drouhin
J-P Fichet
Pierre Morey/Morey Blanc
Louis Latour
Domaine Dujac
Sylvain Cathiard
Clos du Tart

Find these wines with wine-searcher.com

Back to top