Domaine Heresztyn Mazzini
It’s a pleasure to offer both the current vintage and back vintages of Domaine Herseztyn Mazzini - a domaine I have followed for much of my career. I visited the domaine for the first time in the mid 90’s and have been following the wines ever since. Since then, driving around Gevrey Chambertin, it’s impossible to miss the domaine’s sign, located on Rue Richebourg, one of the main East/West routes through the village.
Although the domaine is located in Gevrey Chambertin, their best vineyards are located in neighboring Morey St Denis, just to the south. Their two best vineyards, Clos St Denis & Morey St Denis 1er Les Millandes
couldn’t be more well situated. Their piece in Clos St Denis sits at the very top of the vineyard, just above Dujac's main plot and just next to the Ponsot winery across the road. Their piece in Les Milladnes (planted in 1958) sits just below Clos de la Roche - remember if you continue north on the Route des Grands Crus (towards Gevrey) you begin to pass the vineyards, of Charmes Chambertin, Latricieres Chambertin, Griottes Chambertin, Le Chambertin etc…this is the high rent district, to say the least.
My last visit to Domaine Heresztyn Mazzini was a cold January day in 2017. I sat with Florence Heresztyn for close to 3 hrs and ran the entire range, along with a number of older vintages. She spoke in great detail about the vines, the conversion to organic farming and the struggles she faced with the 2016 growing season. The damp weather and daily rain put incredible disease pressure on the vines which required countless treatments and really pushed her to the limit. On more than one occasion, she considered abandoning the labor intensive methods required to farm organically.
In the end, Florence was proud of their efforts. There was a visible difference in the soil and color of the plant material on the parcels that were farmed organically. Like I have said so many times before, you don’t just flip the switch and start farming organically and all of a sudden your wine improves dramatically. It's a process that takes 6-7 years before you really start to see the difference.
Having followed these wines for as long as I have, I’ve got to say that there is nothing wrong with the wines produced a decade ago, as I’ve had many memorable bottles, but the wines being produced today show more intensity, a fuller mouth feel, greater depth and have more precision and refinement.
The wines are made in a traditional/minimalist style. Indigenous yeast are used to start the fermentation after several days of a cold soak. The vines in Clos St Denis are 40+ (planted 1980) years old while the vines from Millandes are in the 60+ range (planted 1958). There is a real sappiness with these two cuvees, which are fermented with 40-80% whole bunch, depending on the vintage. There are no punchdowns with the Millandes, only pump overs, which is one of the reasons the wine displays such a refined texture. There is some new wood in the cellar, but nothing more than 50% for these cuvees - it used to be more prominent a decade ago but it's something I find more in the background these days. Typical elevage runs 15 or so months - wines are bottled unfinned and unfiltered.
I popped a bottle of the 2015 Millandes as I began to put this offer together. Dark in color, with an intensity and richness that you would expect to see from a Grand Cru. At almost 10 years old, this is still very much a baby. Palate staining intensity gives way to a finish that is still very primary but well proportioned. Everything is in balance here; it's just a very intense wine that is going to require some patience. Tasting this blind, you’d likely guess it was a Grand Cru. If you can keep your hands off it this is going to be a wine that truly rewards!
These are the wines in the Heresztyn lineup that have always been my favorites.
