PRODUCER: Domaine Pierre Morin
REGION: Sancerre, Loire Valley, France
WINEMAKERS: Pierre Morin
Working off the ideology that great wine can only be made by nonpareil grapes, Pierre Morin has defined his vinous style through the maintenance extremely low yields – around 40hl/hA - as well as meticulous selection followed by a harvest done entirely by hand. The proof is in the textured, terroir-driven Sancerre he produces. For us he sets aside his oldest vines from various parcels, including Chêne Marchand which make the richest most intense wine he offers.
WINERY HISTORY
The Morin family are long-time natives of the Sancerre region, having farmed their small familial holdings around Bué - Sancerre's most prized village - for generations. It was only with Pierre's father, Gérard, however, that the family's focus would shift to viticulture. Beginning in 1976, Gérard began to slowly expand the family's vineyards, growing the estate from 1.5ha to 10ha within the Sancerre AOC. Pierre would join his father in 2004, shifting the focus of the estate towards sustainable agriculture and a low-yield, high quality mentality. With experience at acclaimed names like Domaine Dujac, Pierre was well-primed to take the domaine to the next level. Now joined by his son, Louis, who recently spent time working at Roberson's very own winery - London Cru - it seems the domaine's future is in good hands.
VITICULTURE & WINEMAKING
Pierre vinifies each of his sites separately to ensure the purest expression of the land. His estate Sancerre cuvee is vinified entirely in stainless steel, with several months on lees adding texture and strength. He also crafts strikingly sapid single vineyard wines, working with some of Sancerre’s most celebrated sites. Chêne Marchand – Bue’s most famous parcel – is planted on gravelly limestone soils with extremely low yields, creating Sauvignon of striking depth and intensity. Ovide comes from a site near the winery, where decades-old vines from the 1950s reign supreme. A small part of these wines is matured in used barrels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered – the results are some of the appellation’s most age-worthy wines. Production is tiny, with only two hundred cases each made of these rich and intriguing cuvees. A tiny amount of Chant de l’Orme is produced, around 800 bottles, 70% of the wine being aged in used barrels. These Sancerre are typical of their region, firmly structured and richly aromatic.
Planted on the Domaine’s clay rich sites, the estate Pinot Noir is fermented and aged in used oak barrels for 12 months. The product of Pierre’s labour is a vibrant and juicy red wine with great varietal character. The best of Pierre’s Pinot is found at ‘Bellechaume’, a site from which he makes a single vineyard cuvée that is aged for two years in new and one-year-old barrels.
IN THE PRESS
“Pierre Morin continues to impress me as one of this appellation’s most under-appreciated talents… There is nothing small about his vinous success!” - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
