2021 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru La Riotte

Romain Taupenot is the ninth generation to farm this family domaine in Morey-Saint-Denis, working with his sister Virginie across holdings in both the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. He likes to call himself a “lazy winemaker,” focusing on the vineyard so the cellar needs as little intervention as possible — organic farming, hand-harvesting, and gentle, traditional handling that lets the site speak.

The 2021 La Riotte leaps from the glass with vivid, effervescent red fruit laced with minerals and a touch of violet. On the palate it is medium-bodied, fresh, with fine tannins, a keen line of acidity, and a bright, peppery, saline finish that keeps your mouth watering. There’s real energy and purity, a wine that feels lively and precise rather than heavy, with the structure to develop beautifully over the next decade or more.

La Riotte sits on limestone-rich soils just east of the village, and Taupenot-Merme’s old vines here consistently deliver one of the more elegant, mineral expressions of Morey Premier Cru.

Grape: 100% Pinot Noir

Region: Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru (La Riotte), Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France

- Vinous 93 points