Domaine Coche Dury   Meursault Rougeot

2001 Meursault Rougeot

By Domaine Coche-Dury

2001 Meursault Rougeot from Domaine Coche-Dury, Burgundy

The early millennium period in Burgundy was not without its challenges, and yet, despite lower yields and a tense battle with the whims of Mother Nature, the 2001 Meursault Rougeot from Domaine Coche-Dury emerged triumphantly. My exploration of this fine vintage is laden with admiration for the meticulous viticulture and precise winemaking that enabled such a superb release.

 

Distinguished Provenance: A Wine of Pedigree

Domaine Coche-Dury, a luminary amidst the constellation of Burgundy’s elite vineyards, has crafted a 2001 Meursault Rougeot which articulates the vintage's individuality with eloquent clarity. It was a year that teetered on precarity -- a cool, sometimes damp summer presented an abundance of obstacles, yet the resultant harvest yielded wines of profound concentration and depth.

 

A Vintage Defying Odds: Cultivating Excellence

A testament to the resilience of well-tended vines, the 2001 vintage from Domaine Coche-Dury carries an unmistakable signature. The mesoclimate surrounding Meursault Rougeot paired with Domaine Coche-Dury's indefatigable diligence ensured grapes of exceptional quality. This chardonnay engages immediately with an almost paradoxical blend of opulence moderated by an underpinning precision, expressing hints of honeyed orchard fruit and toasted hazelnut which dance upon a subtler stage of flinty minerality.

With age, this Meursault Rougeot's complexity has blossomed, offering a palate layered enough to intrigue but balanced enough to enjoy. Nuances of vanilla and a whisper of oak round off the tasting journey with a meticulous finish that lingers with just enough persistence to prompt contemplation.

The allure of investment in the 2001 Meursault Rougeot from Domaine Coche-Dury is manifold; not only does it represent the fortitude and unexpected rewards found within challenging vintages, it also stands as a profound example of skill navigating adversity to produce something quite extraordinary for both collector and connoisseur alike.

 

In Conclusion: The Essence of Meursault

In summate, my study into this revered drop reveals a vintage that crosses thresholds into rarity and eminence. Should you seek to enhance your collection with astute selections such as the 2001 Meursault Rougeot from Domaine Coche-Dury, know that its poise and resonance will embolden any investment portfolio whilst promising further maturation potential and engaging tasting experiences for years to come.

Current market price

£17,330.00

12x75cl

Highest score

94

POP score

1237.86

Scores and tasting notes

93-95

The awesomely aromatic 2001 Meursault Les Rougeots bursts from the glass with vanilla-infused toast. An opulent, medium-bodied, exceedingly spicy wine of huge power, depth, as well as density, it is velvety-textured and crammed with pear-laced honeyed minerals. Moreover, its finish is bursting with flavor and resin, sticking to the palate for an astoundingly long time. Anticipated maturity: now-2014. *Note: Jean-Francois Coche labels three different wines as “Meursault”, the Vireuils-Dessous, Vireuils-Dessus, and Narvaux. His US importer, Kermit Lynch, typically purchases only the Meursault from the Narvaux vineyard. By the time I entered the cellars of Jean-Francois Coche, I’d been tasting in Burgundy for nearly three weeks. The vintage remained perplexing. A plethora of unripe wines had been encountered (with green acid and sharp textures), some plump, delicious, near-term drinkers were located, but only a handful of great offerings had been unearthed. My mind contained many pieces of the puzzle as to why this vintage was so heterogeneous, even within a single estate. Within minutes of my arrival, Coche took all those pieces of the puzzle, rearranged them, and showed me a clear picture of the vintage. “People simply harvest too early, and they’re thinking about finishing before they even start, so they harvest too early and too quickly.” He went on to explain that he takes 11 days to harvest his 9.43 hectare (23.3 acre) estate even though he could do it much more quickly. “The key is to wait for each parcel to ripen. I wait seven days between my Vireuils-Dessous and Vireuils-Dessus because that’s what it takes. I don’t simply send the harvesters up the hill just because they happen to be in the vicinity.” In a year where many vignerons were whining about the difficulties associated with the vintage, an ecstatic Jean-Francois Coche could be found gleefully slurping his wines, joyfully uttering such comments as “magnificent yellow-pink grapes”, “pure and rich”, “incredible flesh, the grape’s resin in fact”. While others bemoaned the rot and botrytis, Coche extolled the virtues of his “stunning grapes, without a trace of botrytis.” To Jean-Francois Coche, 2001 is a great vintage for whites, “because the grapes were healthy, perfectly ripe with golden colors, yields were moderate, certainly lower than 2000 and 1999, and the malolactic fermentations took a really long time, from early winter to September for most of them (one was still gurgling away). These wines will age extremely well, in fact I’m considering not releasing the top wines for a number of years like I’ve done with the 1996s.” On the issue of the red Cote de Beaune’s (Coche produces a number, none of which were tasted), he said, “it was a really tough year, rather mediocre in fact.” What sets Coche apart from the world’s hordes of winemakers is more than his picking dates and harvesting techniques. It is dedication. With exceedingly few exceptions, producers throughout the world wish for their wines to be tasted between 10am and 11:30am, because somebody’s told them the wines showed best during that time-frame. Coche demands that tastings be conducted after nightfall, “I’ll be in the vineyards starting at dawn, so we must meet at night.” Therein lies the answer as to why Coche has yields low enough that they can ripen, healthy bunches, and the conscientiousness to harvest only when the grapes are fully mature. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

Pierre Rovani - The Wine Advocate, 29 June 2003

Vintage performance