Morey-St-Denis is perhaps the least celebrated of the four great Côte de Nuits towns. Its tiny scale (1 mile wide, population 680) and position between the giants of Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin mean it’s rarely the loudest voice in a lineup of Burgundies. But there are outstanding winemakers and extraordinary terroir here.
Our source in Morey is the Domaine Amiot, a gem of a domaine headed up by twentysomething Léon Amiot, the tenth generation of Amiot to work vines in the town. Their careful organic winemaking produces wines of exceptional clarity and balance, and lately has begun to turn heads among wine writers.
The Amiots farm vines in both Morey and Gevrey, but we’ve long thought their best wine is their Morey-St-Denis 1er cru “Ruchots,” generally considered the best premier cru in town. From an acre of vines, the Amiot family makes just 200 cases of this wine per year. Their vines, planted in the 1950s, produce concentrated, intense red Burgundy, particularly in vintage like 2022. Allen Meadows (Burghound) awarded the 2022 Ruchots 92 points, finding it “sleek and fine” with a “caressing, even sappy mouthfeel.”
This wine is enough to prove that Morey-St-Denis is much more than just a stop between Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin. Its nose is dark and spicy, with hints of earth and smoke. The mouth is ripe, rich, and long, with blackberry and woodsy flavors. There’s enough concentration to keep this aging beautifully for a decade, but like most 2022s it’s exquisite today.
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Amiot Morey-St-Denis 1er “Ruchots” 2022
bottle price: $125
