Morey Saint-Denis: Introducing Domaine Stéphan Magnien! (No Relation to Other Magniens...)

5/23/12 -

(Stephan Magnien)

The young and very capable Stéphan Magnien is the fourth generation in his family at this four hectare estate in Morey Saint-Denis. The domain has never used herbicides, doing a deep plowing to aerate the soil each winter (they changed from horse to tractor in the 1980s) and uses only organic composts. There is a high percentage of old vines, including a great deal of "Pinot Tordu," a small-berried,  aromatic old clone of Pinot. Minimal new oak is used, about 15% for the premier and grand cru wines, and the wines are bottled without fining or filtration. Hand harvesting, of course, and long, wild-yeast fermentations. Our tasting of the 2010 vintage with Stephan last February showed that this modest young winemaker is producing beautifully elegant wines, with minimal efforts to extract. Relatively light in body, the wines were aromatically extremely lovely and wonderfully balanced, with fine material and good acidity indicating great potential for aging. It's quite exciting to find a new, and reasonably priced Burgundy producer making wines in a style we love and we hope you will give them a try!