From terroir to cellar, grape to glass, each vintage tells its own story. Our artful blending process has evolved over our 300-year old history to suit the commands of Clos Marey-Monge. It has never demanded a rule book or a magic formula. We simply follow our noses and tastebuds and allow the vintage do all the talking… Because a year in Burgundy is never the same twice.
ALL ABOUT THE BLEND
The purpose of blending the wine from the five separate terroirs of Clos Marey-Monge ; after our signature 18-28-month long aging duration, is for two reasons.
1) To enhance and accentuate the wine’s final complexity by installing multiple flavors and aromas infused by the diverse properties of each terroir.
2) To refine the balance between fruit, acid, tannin, alcohol and color ; a process that can only be achieved by the intuition of our winemakers senses ; once the wine has fully fused together during our signature long aging process.
It is this pursuit of balance through our skilful and complex blending method that gives our Pinot Noir the well-rounded structure of body and flavor for which they have become acclaimed. Especially since 2007, when Emmanuel Sala began his tenure as winemaker.
Cellar Door: Emmanuel seeks the peculiarities of the vintage
Before Emmanuel was appointed the prestigious position of Château de Pommard’s Winemaker ; it was the acclaimed winemaker Philippe Charlopin, now of Domaine Charlopin-Parizot, located in Gevrey Chambertin, who began bringing Château de Pommard’s blending process into the 21st century, after decades of France’s only Winemaker-psychoanalyst Jean Laplanche at the helm. “I make wine in a style connected to mankind,” said Laplanche in 1975. “I make tannic wines, with long finishes, and a fermentation of three weeks. We go into the kitchen with my wife, Nadine, and spread out all the terroirs on the marble. We taste and create the blends before bottling. The wine only truly becomes my child after 7 years.”
Swirl, Sip, Savor: Emmanuel inspects the wine from each terroir from their barrels
“Wine coming from several parcels in the same climat, reunited in the same barrel will present by fact of this homogeneity, a particular cachet that a great number of consumers will seek out.”
Camille Rodier, Le Vin de Bourgogne (La Côte d’Or), 1920
SIGNATURE WINEMAKING TECHNIQUE
Our winemaker’s signature winemaking technique is a complex blend of intuition with experience, knowing when to back-off or offer a guiding hand. Nature is our captain for most of the season, but at this final stage it is the delicate savoir faire of our winemaker who takes control, navigating the final taste of each cuvée homeward.
This skilful blending of the five terroirs of Clos Marey-Monge is a process that ensures the diversity and personality of each plot reveals itself fully ; and allowing the vintage’s voice to be heard above any other noise. At the perfect moment for blending – usually in July, before the chaos of harvest ignites ; we anticipate the precise proportions of each cuvée to give the final blend just the right balance of structure, complexity, and length it deserves. This requires some complex maths…
Perfect Proportions: Emmanuel blends his intuition with Burgundian savoir faire
Our signature blending process for Clos Marey-Monge Monopole and Vivant Micault vintages begins when Emmanuel and his winemaking team meet to smell, taste, and befriend the wine from each plot – Grand Champs, Nadine, Les Paules and Chantrerie – independently and then employ their senses and savoir faire to blend the five terroirs together until they balance acidity, elegance and full-bodiedness in just the right proportions. These proportions change with each vintage. For our limited edition cuvée Simone, a pure distillation of the Simone plot and home to Clos Marey-Monge’s oldest vines, there is no blending. In keeping with the mystery that surrounds the identity of Simone ; we like to keep how we make this wine a secret. If you want to know more, you’ll need to ask Emmanuel.
SEVEN TERROIRS, SEVEN CUVEÉS
Once all the plots have been blended together in the correct way ; a complicated process of transferring the wine of each terroir/barrel back into a tank in the right percentage with other terroirs. It takes about 14 days to accomplish.
The vintage is then ready to be bottled and placed in the cellar to settle once more for an additional four to ten months ; depending on Emmanuel’s instructions. During this time, the components of the wine continue to evolve and fuse together just as nature intended ; in all the peace and quiet they deserve.
The wine’s next journey is up to you…
Grape to Glass: Each terroir brings its own personality to the blend