98 Point "Hedonistic" Vintage: 2019 Les Heritiers Saint-Genys Clos Marcilly 'Cuvee Clovis' 1er Cru Mercurey Rouge
In the United States, the word monopoly doesn’t conjure up positive connotations. (Try to get tickets to Bruce or Taylor recently?) But in the prestigious world of Burgundian wine, a monopoly—or monopole as it is in French—is a wholly different, wonderful thing. It’s a unique vineyard with its own appellation (or AOC). No other vineyards exist within the appellation, and that indicates that the vineyard’s terroir is very special indeed. Think Romanee Conti and La Tache—they’re both monopoles.
Le Clos Marcilly, one of the first five original Premier Crus recognized in the highly-regarded Mercurey in 1943, is a monopole, too. Today’s wine, the 94-point 2019 Les Heritiers Saint-Genys Clos Marcilly 'Cuvée Clovis' 1er Cru Mercurey Rouge comes exclusively from this special vineyard. Les Heritiers Saint-Genys calls on none other than Stephane Derenoncourt to craft this wine. Derenoncourt— one of the world’s most sought-after winemakers, according to Decanter— has made wine for a long list of wine royalty including Château Teyssier, Ch. Talbot, Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte, Clos Fourtet, Domaine Laroche in Chablis, Dom. Saint-Prefert in Chateauneuf, Commanderie de Peyrassol in Provence, Tenuta Argentiera in Bolgheri, and Inglenook.
The vineyard has a first-class pedigree. Derenoncourt has a first-class reputation. Even the vintage was first-class. The 98-point 2019 vintage was exceptional, and described as “hedonistic.” What about the wine itself?
The Pinot Noir for this exceptional wine comes from 60-year-old vinesplanted in clay-limestone soil at an altitude of 230m. Grapes are hand harvested and carefully sorted. A portion, 15%, is left whole cluster, giving the wine more body, mouthfeel, and notes of pencil shavings. It’s aged for 20 months in 24% new French oak and bottled unfined.
The satisfying result is a wine that James Suckling praises, saying it “has as much elegance and concentration as many Côte-de-Beaune 1er Crus.” Les Heritiers Saint-Genys made only 500 cases of this elegant wine, and just 100 cases made their way to the U.S. BHW is thrilled to have a small allocation to offer our customers.
Unlike the “dynamic pricing” that comes with the ticket sales monopoly that gave fans immense sticker shock earlier this year, BHW does not suddenly raise our prices based on demand. In fact, we’re offering this Premier Cru—from a vintage that perhaps rivals 1865, considered the greatest vintage of all—for over 33% off, bringing it to under $50! All you have to do is click and buy. No waiting in an endless queue sweating out whether you’ll get a bottle of wine that we’re sure will be a “hot ticket” among BHW customers. (Plus, no crazy hidden fees—just upfront shipping costs, and if you buy 6 bottles, shipping is free!).
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