1970 C.Leymarie & Fils - Clos de la Roche (Morey St Denis, Burgundy, France)
I thought a festive Burgundy would go down well on sunday, so I chose this one. Bottled by a negociant based in 33 Libourne & 21 Vougeot, the bottle is in excellent condition. Using my Durand, I popped and poured. A fine deep red strawberry colour with a light red rim. The fine nose gently wafted pot pourri, fine salami and strawberry jam into the room. The mouthful is so silky, though with lazer-like core of featherweight tannin and gentle acidity. The persistence is admirable on the palate and this red elixir fades gently into the distance. Served blind, I would have guessed 1985 as the vintage.
I understand why ‘Grand Cru’ isn’t on the label - that frequently was the case up through the 1980s. But why is it listed as ‘Appellation Morey Saint Denis’ - it’s not - and why is it then, as a further contradiction, marked ‘Premier Cru’?
Leymarie is - at least - proprietor in Clos Vougeot (0.5 ha) … I have tasted a very fine 1964 and still have a 1993 in the cellar.
I don´t know if they own also a parcel in Clos de la Roche.
I think there are family connections to a negociant comp. “Leymarie” in Brussels (and obviously also in Libourne" - maybe this is the result of a family trade of one or more barrels …
Why this is labelled Morey-St-Denis Premier Cru (which is totally legal … since a Grand Cru can be declassified into a Premier Cru with the same name) remains a question - maybe this is made for a foreign market - and they thought “Morey” is better known there than CdlR … or it is a cuvee from young vines and they didn´t want to call it GC …
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