Marsannay lieu-dit Les Longeroies is an ancient (many 50-100-year-old vines here, which is an eternity in the Côte de Nuits) vineyard with limestone, red clay, gravel, and sandy soils. Longeroies is a combination of the words longe,” meaning “long and narrow,” and “roie,” meaning “furrow,” or a long narrow trench made in the ground by a plow. Sitting at 900 feet elevation with a southeast aspect, it is a near-perfect vineyard site to express Marsannay’s unique northern terroir. Most of Denis Mortet’s Marsannay bottlings are vinified in steel and/or neutral oak in order to preserve their freshness and fruitiness, but Longerois is not a fruity, simple wine. On the contrary, it is supremely elegant, layered, and complex.

The 2019 announces its arrival with a bushel of dark cherry and red berry fruit with subtle spice and French oak. But, shortly behind this initial torrent of aromas, the real treasure awaits: a slowly unraveling floral character and deep limestone-kissed Côte de Nuits soil character. There’s a firm minerality that recalls top-tier Gevrey-Chambertin that marries beautifully to the wine’s more Chambolle-like polish and freshness.