2010 Domaine Maume Gevrey Chambertin En Pallud

Bertrand is the current Maume-in-charge at the tiny Domaine Maume. He has been involved in making the wines here since the mid nineties. Domaine Maume’s wines are deep, profound Pinot Noir experiences. They are wines of mystery – constantly changing and evolving, both in barrel and in bottle, like the Burgundies of the past.  They are bottled from barrel by gravity without any pumping, fining or filtration. The secret to Maume’s success is his rigid adherence to selection massale cuttings in his replanting of the family’s vineyards. By isolating vines with the healthiest grapes, they replant only the best.  Most of their vines are quite old, too, averaging 50 years of age across all parcels. Maume does not believe in using new clones but is a strong believer in the diversity of old Pinot stock.

Maume’s premier cru bottling is a real gem. It is a blend of two parcels, Cherbaudes and La Perrière, that are right in the saddle of grand cru country – below Mazis-Chambertin and Clos de Bèze, next to Chapelle-Chambertin.  There are only a few barrels.  “En Pallud” is a particularly well-suited lieu-dit just south of the village on the slope, below the premier cru Les Corbeaux and at the same elevation and exposure as the grand crus.  The Maumes have a sizeable parcel here of 65 year-old vines.  Etelois is also on the grand cru slope, just below Griotte-Chambertin.  Champeaux is a higher elevation premier cru parcel that was one of the first vineyards worked by the monks of Cluny.   Lavaux St. Jacques is a great premier cru site situated on the Combe de Lavaux, a valley that runs east to west and whose air currents help dry the vineyards of Gevrey after rains.  This is a wine with a remarkable texture, finesse, and length.  The Maume wines have a well-deserved reputation for long-term cellaring potential. A 1980 Lavaux St. Jacques tasted in 2009 was perfectly mature. A 1979 Mazis tasted in 2008 seemed capable of going on forever at its peak of perfection.  A great bottle from Maume takes you about as deep into the Burgundian soul as you can get.