What's Pressoir Drinking? Pierre Morey, Montrachet Grand Cru 1985

by Max Goldberg Liu
Wednesday April 28, 2021

I was treated to this remarkable wine last Friday at Grand Cru Selections’ company lunch.

Clearly, Pierre Morey did not make many magnums of Montrachet in 1985 - as you can see in the photo, he put a 75cl label on the magnum and wrote “2x” in pen, which indicates it was not worth a print run for magnum labels! Of course, this is informed by the history and context of this wine…

This was in fact made from Domaine des Comtes Lafon’s parcel of Montrachet, which was on a long-term lease to Pierre Morey up to the late 1980’s. Dominique Lafon had returned to the family estate and began to recover his family vineyards, which had been mostly leased out under his father René Lafon.

Montrachet is rarely a wine you see made in large quantities; this is especially true with the Lafon parcel which is just 0.32 hectares and typically produces low yields of 20-35 hectoliters per hectare.

Is it fair to say that Pierre Morey is one of the most underappreciated winemakers of the Côte de Beaune in the last 40 years? He had a remarkable history as the Regisseur (director) of Domaine Leflaive for many years, working closely with Anne-Claude Leflaive on the first conversions to biodynamics, in addition to making wine under his own label, both with the Lafon parcels, and his own. The wines are superb and long-lived.

This was a stunning Montrachet with a beautiful healthy bright gold color. It was fully mature, with aromas of golden pear, quince paste, crushed rocks, and a hint of white truffle. On the palate it presented the breadth and density that one expects from Montrachet, along with remarkably elegant acidity and structure. With length and persistence that was off-the-charts, I was still tasting it 5 minutes after the last sip! Just a remarkable wine and a reminder of the heights that Burgundy can sometimes achieve!