Tupinier Bautista
Mercurey Vieilles Vignes 2023

The Mercurey Vieilles Vignes comes from 70 year old vines and sees 25% new wood. It is fully destemmed, so that Manu can extract maximum flavours and aromas without the overly floral characteristics that whole bunch pressing can often generate. It has aromas of sweet cherries, raspberries, baking spices and very high quality new oak, On the palate it is medium-bodied, ample and fleshy, with beautiful tannins, succulent acids and a typically sensual, enveloping profile. This pleasure-bent red will offer delicious drinking out of the gates, but will reward medium term cellaring.

The 2022 vintage is one of the best red vintages in recent decades, perhaps comparing best to 2005. The summer was warmer than average, but with no heat spikes, unlike the vintages of 2020 or 2003. There was enough rain in June to give plenty of water reserves throughout the warm summer.  Harvest began in August and continued through ti early September, without pressure to rush the picking times or wait for better weather. Essentially, growers could pick exactly when they wanted. The result was perfectly healthy grapes without dried or raisined fruit. The profile of the reds in 2022 is of immediate sweet fruit with lovely gentle tannins. Although they are drinking well now, the 2022s will age beautifully given their incredible balance and depth of character. The challenge will be keeping your hands off them given how much enjoyment they are currently bringing.

Tupinier-Bautista is one of the Côte Chalonnaise’s finest estates. Emphasizing that everything follows from the quality of the raw materials, Bautista harvests by hand in small cases. Reds see long cuvaisons with temperatures kept in the high twenties  to preserve the expression of fruit. Élevage then takes place in 228L and 500L barrels from Tonnellerie Chassin, whose Rully cooperage supplies many of the region’s best addresses. Winemaker and owner, Manuel Bautista, is good friends with Stéphane Chassin and he is able to order barrels for each cuvée as soon as the fermentation is complete so he can customize his selection to the requirements of every parcel of grapes. This is a luxury that others in the region do not enjoy and helps to explain how seemless and well-integrated the oak is part of all Tupinier Bautista wines, despite the relatively high proportion of new oak. Topping up is meticulous, and Bautista’s attention to detail will be evident to anyone who visits his cellars. The results speak for themselves: supple, fragrant reds bursting with vibrant fruit that entirely conceals their velvety tannins and precise, flavorful and harmonious whites. In short, Bautista is one of a small handful of producers that demonstrates just what is possible when Mercurey’s terroirs are lavished with the same attention devoted to their more famous Côte d’Or counterparts.