The 2010 Marsannay Les Grasses Tetes is magnificent. It possesses tremendous depth in its black cherries, spices, menthol and licorice. This is a stunning wine graced with exquisite richness. The powerful tannins need time to settle down, but the Grasses Tetes is nevertheless a striking wine from start to finish. Bruno Clair notes that it was the last wine to finish its malo. If there is an argument to be made that Marsannay is capable of truly great wines, that discussion must start at this cellar. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2020.
This is a fabulous set of wines from Bruno Clair and his long-time oenologist Philippe Brun. The harvest started on September 25. Yields were 22-30 hectoliters per hectare, which is to say a good 10% less than 2003, a torrid vintage marked by tiny yields. Clair describes the fruit as healthy, with no botrytis and soft tannins from the late harvest. The 2010s were 100% destemmed. New oak ranged from 25% for the villages to 50% for the Grand Crus, except for the Marsannays, which saw very little new oak.
A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808, Fine Vines, Melrose Park, IL; tel. (708) 343-6702, The Source, San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 621-6151