2020 Thomas Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos Saint Jean Magnum

Morey's name is not uncommon on the Côte de Beaune. Just down the street from Thomas Morey there are two other domains with the same surname. Since its start in 2007, Thomas Morey has built up an excellent reputation. The winemaker comes from a family whose tradition in Chassagne goes back to the 17th century. Born in Paris-l'Hôpital, a small commune in the department of Saône-et-Loire, about ten kilometers from Chassagne-Montrachet, Claude Morey arrived in 1643. He and his numerous descendants worked in the vineyards or as a cooper (Tonnier) and gradually acquired vineyards and plots. It was not until the end of the 19th century that viticulture became the main activity. After working for several years with his father Bernard and brother Vincent, Thomas and his wife Sylvie decided in 2006 to set up their own domaine, in which the first vintage was produced in 2007. Thomas was able to take over many of his family's plots that had been planted in the 1950s and 1960s. Gradually he also received offers from neighbors to take over one or the other plot or to rent it for a long time. And so his terrain portfolio grew to about 13 hectares. The vines are up to 70 years old. For the past few decades, his father has always planted new plants from massive selections of old vines.

It was clear to Thomas and Sylvie that they wanted to work in their domain as their grandparents had done. That meant completely dispensing with herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. That was in 2011. In 2014 they then officially tackled this and achieved certification in 2017. When you talk to Thomas Morey, he always looks back to his grandparents, who never touched a chemical syringe and always made good wines. He himself wanted to continue with the "old-school approach", as he calls it - mainly because he was never comfortable with the sprays used at home. In the cellar, Thomas Morey works exclusively with spontaneous fermentation and has never used sulfur during fermentation. He always puts the sulfur into the barrels first - and only very minimally and over several doses - so that it reaches a maximum of 35 mg/l over the last six months of barrel storage. The white wines mature on the yeast, there is no batonnage and the proportion of new wood is a moderate 20%. The wines are lightly filtered before bottling. The Pinot is largely destemmed and carefully aged in the wood. The wines only stay in the barrel for about nine months and are then bottled.

Thomas Morey's white wines come from Saint-Aubin, Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. Bâtard-Montrachet is the house's Grand Cru with vines that are around 70 years old. The Pinot Noir comes from Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet, Maranges and Santenay. The quality level model and price structure are very apparent in Thomas Morey's wines. The completely unvarnished, very pure wines clearly show the terroir from which they come.