Located in the heart of the Côte Chalonnaise, one of the oldest terroirs of Burgundy, Domaine de la Bressande offers upper quality wines with finesse, pleasure and elegance. The vineyard estate extends around 35 hectares over the villages of Mercurey and Rully.
MERCUREY PREMIER CRU
EN SAZENAY 2021

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2021  

100% Pinot Noir.

Color: an elegant garnet red.
Nose: powerfull with strong blackcurrant aromas and delicate wood.
Palate: a rich and powerfull wine in the mouth with intense fruits aromas, well-marked yet velvety, mellow tannins and a superb long finish.

This Premier Cru goes very well with roasted meats or with stews such as beef bourguignon, coq au vin or poched eggs in wine sauce ("Oeufs en Meurette"), terrines, cheese.

Serve idellay at a temperature of 14-16°C. (57-60°F.)

4 to 6 years, even more in good storage conditions.

In the Cote Chalonnaise, birthplace of viticultural Burgundy, Mercurey is one of the oldest terroirs which has always enjoyed an excellent reputation. 

Mercurey is a communal appellation which includes 31 Premier Cru climats. Located in the north of the Côte Chalonnaise, more than 90% of the wine produced under the appellation Mercurey are red wines. They extend on 596 ha, of which 143 are Premiers Crus. White wines are produced on 85 ha, including 13 ha of Premier Cru.

The village inherited its name from the Romans: when they settled in the region, they built a temple in tribute to Mercury, their patron God of commerce and financial gain.

The vineyard estate extends now over 21 hectares and offers 3 upper quality wines from the appellation of Mercurey. White wines: Mercurey (3 ha), red wines: Mercurey (7.50 ha) and Mercurey 1er Cru En Sazenay (1.75 ha).

This “lieu-dit” benefits from a southeastern exposure at an altitude of 250-280 meters above the sea level. It's one of the best exposure you can find for a vineyard, because it's the one where the vines will get the most sunlight. One other great advantage of this terroir lies in its being on a slope: vines get just the right amount of water and the amount of sunshine is optimum. Grown on a clay limestone sandy soil, the vines can give their best. There, the wines we get are deep and well structured, thanks to this ideal conditions.

- Vineyard area: 1.75 Ha (2.47 acres).
- Vines age: around 51 years.
- Soil: Calcareous clay soil, deep sand.

Harvest took place in the En Sazenay plot on September, the 24th. Grapes were handpicked and carefully sorted, then carried in 16kg boxes to protect them from crush and compaction.

Maceration lasted about 14 to 18 days in order to get wines with a deep color, complex aromas and as a consequence a good ageing potential. Traditional vinification was then carried out in temperature-controlled concrete vats - to master the fermentation temperatures thanks to the great inertia of concrete - with regular stirring and pumpings-over. Alternating those two methods is a good way to obtain balanced wines because the tannins are not too much extracted. Then, the wine was aged for 8 months in oak barrels with 25% new oak. Light filtration before bottling.

Nature certainly set a challenge for the winegrower and the winemaker with this vintage.

It began with very warm temperatures at the end of February which led to an early bud break.

The historic frost in April then destroyed young shoots that had emerged too early, significantly affecting the future harvest. Changing weather continued to characterize the vintage through to the harvests.

There were spells of rain from May to mid-August, obliging winegrowers to be constantly on the alert. The only periods of relative calm were during flowering, which took place in good conditions for the formation of the future fruit, and the véraison (colour change), which benefited from the return of the sun from mid-August.

The vagaries of the weather contributed to the development of outbreaks of disease, which were contained thanks to the tireless efforts of our winegrowers. In spite of this, considerable sacrifices had to be made to ensure a high level of quality, and rigorous sorting of the fruit in the vineyard and on arrival at the winery was necessary.

This vintage also required a major technical effort. The vinifications had to be carried out with meticulous attention and precision with a particular care over the extraction of colouring matter, the balance of the structure and the aromatic expression of the red wines, and of the freshness, balance of acidity and aromatic potential of the white wines.