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. BN. "Fronted by Manuel Bautista, this is an old family domaine by the church in Touches that looks down on the town of Mercurey. The domaine is 10 hectares and mainly of Mercurey . . . . Manuel meets me for my appointment looking like he’s just come off the rugby pitch – he’s a powerful-looking guy and (I know it’s a cliché, but…) his reds are built just like him; fast, powerful and direct. It’s almost a surprise when he says “You know, I really loves whites, so it’s such a shame that Mercury has so little of its vineyards planted to white – it’s only about 15%.” In fact he likes his whites so much, he even has a small négoce operation – but, it seems, he prefers to buy his chardonnay from Puligny! Manuel is the step-son of Jacques Tupinier and can trace the Tupinier family back to before the French Revolution. Manuel has been making wine here since 1997 and he notes that 2013 was the first time he ever had to harvest in October! The domaine has 10 hectares of Mercurey including a number of premier crus. “Everything here is manual” says Manuel; 'working the land and even harvesting in small cases.' The whites have no batonnage as he prefers a mineral aspect to fat. The reds are destemmed and there’s no pigeage during the fermentations – 'I like real vin de gardes, so I have a long cuvaison but would rather macerate than punch down – and with good grapes you’ll get good colour – the primary material is everything!' '2013 was a hard vintage for working but I like the fruit it’s delivered. The wines are less powerful though more mineral . . . . 2013 Mercury Vieilles Vignes: Deep colour. Deep, impressive dark cherry and cassis nose, fresh too – impressively adds a warmth of fruit too. Good freshness and lovely weight of concentrated fruit flavour. Lots of extract here but its direct and impressive bravo!" Bill Nanson, Burgundy-Report.com, Feb 2015 |