Maranges 1er Cru La Fussière 2017 - Nicolas Perrault

Maranges 1er Cru La Fussière 2017 - Nicolas Perrault

90/100 Parker

Cellaring: 2019 - 2030

By William Kelley in 2019: "Aromas of rose petals, cherries and blackberries preface the 2017 Maranges 1er Cru Fussière, a medium- to full-bodied, velvety wine with a full, nicely layered mid-palate, ripe tannins and succulent acids. Made from 25-year-old vines, it is already drinking well.

A promising producer from the southern Côte de Beaune, Nicolas Perrault is a thoughtful winemaker whose efforts are rewarded with increasingly delicious wines. He stopped using herbicides in 2009 and keeps vineyard treatments to a minimum; in the cellar, he aspires to tame the stereotypical rusticity of Santenay and Maranges - a quality that we agree is due more to vineyard and winemaking choices than anything inherent in the terroirs of these unjustly neglected villages. Perrault observes that the higher altitude of Maranges means it is important to wait for full ripeness, and he is also careful to handle his fruit gently, avoiding unnecessary crushing. Since 2005, he has been experimenting with whole bunches, and as of the 2018 vintage, he consistently uses 30% of them. He has also found that his wines respond well to long aging, in judiciously chosen barrels of Trémeaux, Chassin and Rousseau. All in all, this is a fine emerging source of high quality, very competitively priced wines that will offer broad drinking opportunities, and they are recommended.