Domaine Pierre Morey

Historical

The Meursault branch of the Morey family, originally from Chassagne, dates back to 1793 when Alexis Morey, visiting Meursault at dead of night with a clandestine priest (this was during the ‘terror’ years of the Revolution) fell in love with a Mlle Millot and married her. A multitude of inheritances (Alexis had 31 grandchildren) and economic ups and downs meant that Pierre Morey’s father Auguste had only a few simple vineyards of his own, though he supplemented them with sharecropping contracts, most notably with the Domaine des Comtes Lafon. Purchasing vineyards, though prices then seem absurdly low now, was not an obvious decision then. In 1964 Auguste Morey tried to turn down the chance to take on a hectare each of Pommard Epenots and Bâtard-Montrachet (in those days the cheaper of the two!) but fortunately allowed himself to go ahead with at least part of the option.

Pierre Morey took over in the early 1970s, but in 1984 the Lafon family decided to take back their vineyards as the agreements expired over the next few years, since Dominique Lafon was planning to work full-time at the domaine. Fortunately, Pierre was shortly afterwards hired as general manager of Domaine Leflaive (from 1988 until retirement in summer 2008), while he also set up his négociant business, Morey-Blanc, so named not because they only deal in white wines but because Pierre Morey’s wife’s maiden name is Blanc, to replace the loss of the Lafon vineyards. He has also been able to buy a few plots of vines himself, as has his daughter Anne who is now in charge. The latest acquisition in 2019 was part of the Clos de Meix Tavaux.

Viticulture & Vinification

The vineyards have been farmed organically since 1993 and biodynamically since 1998. Anne continues her father’s methods of vinification: sort the grapes, crush them before pressing, allow to settle for a day but keep most of the lees, with stirring after the fermentation through to Christmas. The wines are racked into older wood in the summer and bottled after 18 to 20 months.

Vineyards

The wines which most define the domaine are the Tesson at village level, Perrières for premier cru and the superb and age-worthy Bâtard-Montrachet.

The reds can be on the rustic side when young (partly the vineyard holdings, partly the style) but do age very well.

White Wines

Red Wines