This tiny parcel of ’19-’20 Durieux reds centers what have become his finest back-to-back vintages to date. The late-released ‘19s are especially exciting - including the two rarest cuvées from the domaine - while the pair of ‘20s compelling illustrate the elegant, expressive results of the vintage here.
Durieux worked at Domaine Prieuré-Roch for a decade before starting his own project in 2010. Principles and practices are recognizably Roch-inspired, aiding the pursuit of attractively natural wines that nevertheless remain impressively pure. The results leave you with the impression of clarity and freshness rather than generic funkiness. Careful farming, Yann's contribution to Roch during his tenure, sets course for positive élévage despite the obvious risks of a natural approach.
Brief notes on the offered cuvées below:
2020 ‘La Gouzotte’ - The name references a stylistic aim rather than a parcel, a gouzotte being a small, precise knife used in vineyard work. The wine pursues a notably vivid and light-footed style, red berries and spice briskly led on by bright acidity. Mostly Hautes Côtes fruit but, again, more style- than site-expressive.
2020 ‘Night Cost’ - From a single site near Nuits-St.-Georges and routinely among the most aromatic of the range. Always more Premeaux-style than middle-Nuits, which is to say impressively soft and polished. A hyper-expressive whole-cluster style.
2019 ‘Les 1er Ponts’ - A smashing value year in and out. This issues from a tiny plot contiguous with the churchyard of the Abbaye de Saint Vivant in the Hautes Côtes. Denser and more mineral than Gouzotte in the more ‘serious’ ’19 idiom here.
2019 ‘BT - Les Boutières’ - A patch of 50 year old vines on the Savigny-Aloxe border. The most ‘noir’ of these, deep and savory but slickly textured. Special ‘19s here and one of the most complete among them.
2019 ‘GC - Gevrey-Chambertin’ - The rarest of Yann’s reds in its strongest-to-date rendition. Surprisingly lithe and lifted (brighter than ‘BT’), with wild strawberry notes leading. Substantial yet weightless, with the energy+substance formula of ’19 at its best.
Cheers,
Jason
