2024 Domaine Roumier - Morey St. Denis Clos Bussiere (750ml)

Domaine Georges Roumier is one of the most revered estates in Burgundy. It was founded in 1924 when Georges Roumier married Geneviève Quanquin, whose family owned vineyards in Chambolle-Musigny. His son Jean-Marie took over in 1961. His grandson Christophe joined in the early 1980s and has made the wines ever since. Christophe gave up chemical fertilizers and herbicides in the late 1980s, and he is known for single-vineyard wines that let each site speak for itself. The domaine’s holdings include Musigny, Bonnes-Mares, and Les Amoureuses.

Clos de la Bussière is a 2.6-hectare Premier Cru on the southern edge of Morey-Saint-Denis, near the border with Chambolle. Roumier is its sole owner and bought it in 1953. The clos has been a single-owner vineyard since the twelfth century and is still enclosed by its original wall, built by Cistercian monks. Its east-facing vines, about 35 years old on average, grow in iron-rich clay over very rocky subsoil. The grapes are hand-harvested and mostly destemmed, then fermented with native yeasts. The wine ages about 16 months in barrel with only a modest share of new oak, and is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The soils give this Morey a darker, fleshier character than Roumier’s airy Chambolles. It shows blackberry, dark cherry, and raspberry, with violets, spice, and a hint of leather. Firm, chalky tannins and fine acidity give it focus and the structure to age for many years. It goes well with roast duck, lamb, or game birds.