PRODUCER: Domaine Thomas Morey
REGION: Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France
WINEMAKERS: Thomas Morey
WINERY HISTORY
Chassagne-Montrachet is home to some of the most talented winemaking families in the world and one of the most important is the Morey family, who have lived in the village since 1643. In recent years, Thomas Morey has emerged as one of Burgundy’s newest prodigal sons. After inheriting the estate from their father in typical Napoleonic law fashion, Thomas and his brother Vincent split the family’s holdings back in 2007. Now organically farming 13ha of vines comprising 57 plots across the Côte d’Or, Thomas continues to demonstrate his mastery of some of Burgundy’s most illustrious villages.
VITICULTURE & WINEMAKING
Thomas is a great believer in rigorous work in the vineyard, pruning hard to keep yields low and avoid the need for a ‘green harvest’. He is one of Burgundy’s most fastidious and talented viticulturalists, a reputation that has led to him being employed by the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti to look after their vines in Le Montrachet Grand Cru. His parcels include several sites in Chassagne-Montrachet, in addition to plantings in Beaune, Puligny, Santenay, and Saint-Aubin.
Morey produces wines of striking elegance from some of the region’s highest quality fruit. His bottlings are characterised by precision and genuine terroir definition. Renowned for his work in Chassagne-Montrachet – including six 1er Crus displaying the weight and presence of the village with an added grace – Thomas also produces several other Grand and 1er Cru bottlings. He aims to produce wines of a racier, lighter style than the rounder, more intense bottlings of his family. To make wines of such precision and tension, he allows his wines to mature longer, minimising usage of new oak to retain the delicacy of his bottlings. The white wines ferment in barrel and age for at least 12 months, with occasional bâtonnage, while the reds follow a soft vinification to maintain a supple texture and avoid over-extraction. Afterwards, the Pinot Noirs experience prolonged aging in vats for at least 15 months prior to being bottled unfiltered and unfined.
These wines are distinguished and pure, ideal representations of the terroir in which they are created. They are textbook examples of topflight Burgundy from one of the region’s most exciting vignerons.
