Bruno Lorenzon Mercurey Piece 13 1er Cru 2017

Aromas of blackberries, dark chocolate and violets mingle with carnal nuances, introducing the 2017 Mercurey 1er Cru Pièce 13, a full-bodied, broad-shouldered wine that boasts amazing concentration without weight and is structured by powdery tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, attractively savory finish.

From vines planted at extremely high density and vinified with close to 100% whole clusters, only 1,800 bottles were produced. 94+ points. Bruno Lorenzon's exceptional wines continue to expand the parameters of the possible in the Côte Chalonnaise, shattering the glass ceiling that's typically imposed upon the wines of Mercurey. His 2017 portfolio is a worthy successor to his 2016 collection, delivering whites of breathtaking purity that stand out for their weightless concentration and reds that display the effortlessness that only comes with a top winemaker at the peak of his powers. As I wrote last year, Lorenzon's vines are trained higher than his neighbors' and farmed organically--something that's still very rare in this appellation. Yields are routinely a mere fraction of his neighbors'. And in the cellar, attention is paid to every detail to safeguard the wines' finesse and precision. All that's the fruit of continuous hard work since he took the reins at this family estate in 1997.