Domaine Menand 2005 Tasting Notes

Mercurey Premier Cru Les Byots 2003
Mercurey Premier Cru Clos des Combins 2003

This year our wines are from the heatwave vintage of 2003.  The exceptionally hot, dry weather following some late spring frosts resulted in a very low yield, which in turn led to a high concentration of natural sugars and flavours, coupled with low acidity.  Despite the fact that 2003 is completely different from the ‘classic’ burgundian vintage of 2002, it is nevertheless outstanding - albeit for relatively early drinking rather than cellaring.

Our winemaker Philippe Menand kept up his excellent record by winning yet another medal for our exclusive Les Byots at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) in 2004.  Judges’ comments, reproduced in October’s Wine International magazine, were: “The rich, plum nose marries well to a palate of taut, savoury fruit with an earthy quality”.  All four vintages so far (1999 to 2002) have now won medals: Gold, Bronze, Silver and Bronze again.  The IWC is the largest, most prestigious blind wine tasting in the world and this level of consistency is exceptional - even more so when you take into account that Les Byots was approximately half the price of the other 16 red burgundies that were awarded a Bronze Medal.  (If you’re wondering about the Clos des Combins, it wasn’t entered!)

Last year’s wines from the 2002 vintage certainly have more ageing potential than these from 2003, so if you have any left keep them while you enjoy your 2003s.  In fact if you have the full set of vintages our advice is to drink them in the following order: 2001/2000/2003/1999/2002 - although there is no hurry to drink any of them just yet.