Louis MathieuPinot Noir Bourgogne Rouge “Les Nargilets” 2015 (750ml)

The only reason this ultra-micro production Burgundy is here in the U.S. – and not just being drank by Louis and his friends – is because of Klaus Peter Keller. Louis interned at Keller for six months and, as a humble gesture one afternoon, Louis put one of his bottles on the table for the entire vineyard crew, including KP, to drink. KP, who has forgotten more about Burgundy than most people will ever know, was impressed. Here was authentic, soulful Burgundy from a young kid on the periphery of Burgundy (the .19-hectare vineyard is in Aluze, on the outskirts of Mercurey), yet the wine had depth, focus, lift. It was a pleasure to drink; it expressed real passion. That’s the origin story anyway.

Aluze is a wilder, colder place than the Côte de Beaune or the Côte de Nuits – so cold in fact that Louis can harvest in late September (as he did in both 2016 and 2017) and produce a Pinot Noir with depth and complexity that is under 12% alcohol.

The 2015 was Louis’ first vintage all on his own; his uncle bought the parcel in 2001. The wine is darker and spicier than the others (this clocks in at 13.01%); there is an intense herbal profile, dried and detailed, with a dark-fruited, juicy palate – beautiful expansive inner-mouth aromatics. This is a slyly concentrated wine, with the grip and structure of the 2015ers, yet it is also direct and lifted. The bottle – all six cases that came into the U.S. – were pulled directly from Louis’ cellar. At seven years old this is just coming into a lovely drinking window, where it should happily stay for another decade and probably longer.